De Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa), the Gaming Authority in the Netherlands, requested fines to be paid. The amount that needed to be paid by five different parties was more than 26 million euros. 

The reason lies in the fact that included parties didn’t have a permit that would allow players to play online games of chance, and despite that, they have let them play illegally. The Ksa carried out the action that had huge consequences in terms of punishment for all five companies that were proceeding with the illegal business. 

Videoslots Limited had to pay a fine of 9.874.000 euros, N1 Interactive Limited’s fine was 12.640.000 euros, and Betpoint Group Limited needed to pay an amount of 1.787.000 euros. Additionally, Probe Investments Limited paid 1.128.000 euros, and the last company that paid the fine was Fairload Limited, whose fine was 900.000 euros. 

A fine policy:

The amounts are different because Ksa has a specific fines policy that was updated in September 2021. With the new policy, Ksa is obliged to consider the turnover in the Netherlands.

The companies were notified about the fines back in December last year. The parties appealed to the court, pleading for the court to stop the decisions’ publication, but the request was denied this week. 

The biggest fines were set for N1 Interactive Limited and Videoslots Limited. N1 Interactive needs to pay more than 12 million, and Videoslots Limited’s fine is almost 10 million. N1 interactive got such a fine because the violation was repeated after the previous fine had been issued. When it comes to the case of the Videoslots, the company showed the Gaming Authority’s word mark on their website, which was unauthorized since only licensed providers have a right to use the mark. The main function of the mark is to show players if they are playing the games that are legal or not, and in this case, it has been violated. 

There are more reasons that can impact the fine. Some of them are the age verification that has to be visibly displayed on each website, as well as the notifications that can imply that the company possesses the European license. There is also the matter regarding the payment methods – anonymous payment methods are strictly prohibited.

The customers’ protection:

In order to gain a right to offer online games of chance to customers, the license issued by Ksa is mandatory. The rules are strictly enforced, but the offer is completely safe and legal. The players are highly protected, gambling addiction is under control, and the games are fair. 

The chairman of Ksa, René Jansen, explained: ”We mean business. Player safety is paramount. A fine is to hit where it hurts, so in the wallet. With such amounts, we think we can impose an appropriate sanction, given the illegal earnings.”