The Dutch gambling regulator has imposed an €886,000 penalty on online operator 711 B.V. after concluding that the company failed to meet its duty of care obligations toward players over a period spanning more than two years.

The sanction follows an investigation by the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), which examined whether the operator adequately monitored and responded to signs of harmful gambling behavior. According to the regulator, the shortcomings occurred between February 2022 and 26 June 2024 and affected players who displayed indicators commonly associated with elevated gambling risk.

The case forms part of a broader enforcement effort by the KSA, which has been reviewing how licensed operators have implemented responsible gambling requirements since the Dutch regulated market launched in October 2021. The regulator indicated that additional investigations have been carried out and suggested that further duty-of-care enforcement actions may follow.

Review of High-Risk Player Accounts

To assess compliance, the KSA requested ten customer files involving players who had recorded significant losses, gambled on numerous days, or regularly placed wagers during nighttime hours. The regulator reported that all ten files contained violations.

According to the findings, 711 failed to sufficiently analyse gambling behavior and did not intervene appropriately when warning signs emerged. The regulator stated that this allowed gambling activity to escalate unchecked, exposing some customers to substantial financial losses.

The KSA’s sanction report highlighted several examples where intervention should have occurred sooner. In some cases, the regulator found that the company failed to identify indicators of potential gambling harm. It also concluded that 711 did not consistently follow its own responsible gambling procedures.

One internal policy reportedly required the responsible gambling team to initiate a risk assessment whenever a customer lost €2,500. The regulator found that, in cases where such reviews were warranted, they were often conducted too late.

Regulator Points to Significant Financial Losses

The KSA placed particular emphasis on the scale of losses suffered by some customers. In evaluating whether adequate action had been taken, the regulator frequently compared player losses to median income levels in the Netherlands.

One example cited by the authority involved a player who lost €27,000 within four days. The KSA noted that this amount exceeded ten median monthly salaries and pointed out that the customer had a daily deposit limit exceeding seven median monthly salaries.

The regulator stated: “It is also important in this regard that the player lost an amount exceeding 10 median monthly salaries in four days and had a daily deposit limit of more than seven median monthly salaries, while 711 had no insight whatsoever into the player’s financial position.”

The authority concluded that stronger intervention measures should have been applied in such circumstances to prevent excessive gambling and reduce the risk of addiction-related harm.

Wider Enforcement Efforts Continue

KSA Chairman Michel Groothuizen linked the penalty to wider concerns about how operators implemented responsible gambling controls following market liberalization. He said in a press release “We have observed that not all providers implemented their duty of care equally well from the opening of the market. We have therefore conducted additional investigations, which are now resulting in various duty of care fines. At the same time, we have further tightened the requirements regarding the duty of care to prevent excesses such as those we are seeing here in the future.”

The latest enforcement action follows several high-profile measures taken by the Dutch regulator this year. In March, the KSA imposed a record fine of approximately €25 million on Novatech over alleged illegal operations targeting Dutch consumers. Earlier this year, prediction market platform Polymarket also faced regulatory action for operating without a local licence.

The regulator has repeatedly stressed that licensed operators must actively monitor customer behavior and respond when warning signs emerge. Expected measures include behavioural analysis, direct intervention, account restrictions and, where appropriate, exclusion from gambling services.

Separate Warning Issued to TOTO

Alongside the action against 711, the KSA recently warned Nederlandse Loterij-owned TOTO Online over marketing activity involving professional football clubs.

The regulator found that social media promotions encouraged customers to place a €5 bet for a chance to win signed club shirts. Dutch gambling regulations prohibit the use of role models in gambling advertising, a measure designed to limit the appeal of gambling to younger audiences.

The issue has renewed debate around youth gambling protections in the Netherlands. Christian Democratic Appeal politician Meryam Sümer has called for the minimum gambling age to increase from 18 to 24, arguing that stronger safeguards are needed to reduce exposure to gambling-related risks.

At the time of the regulator’s announcement, 711 had not publicly responded to the penalty, and the KSA had not released detailed information regarding every individual intervention failure identified during the investigation.