KSA Wants to Put a Stop to Illegal Online and Land-Based Gambling

Continuously looking for more efficient ways to tackle illegal gambling practices, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Dutch Gaming Authority went live with a new enforcement policy. The newly released report, which is a part of the Gambling Act (Wok), contains measures that should address both land-based and online illegal gambling in the Netherlands. The new rules went live on December 1, 2023.

As agreed, the regulator will continue to closely cooperate with Regional Information and Expertise Centers (RIECs), institutions assigned to identifying subversive crime. The authorities given to the regulator include the right to conduct the investigation at any time and even confiscate gaming machines if deemed necessary.

Illegal Gambling = Unsafe Gambling

Illegal gambling practices represent a huge issue not only in the Netherlands but in many other territories as well. In recent years, a growing number of local regulators have started paying more attention to this trend, aiming to put thing sunder control through versatile measures and tools.

The regulator noted that:

“The KSA wants to become more visible in the physical domain and make a greater contribution to combating the supply of physically illegal games of chance. The KSA does this because playing safely in illegal games of chance is not guaranteed.”

One of the main reasons for the increase in gambling addiction is the absence of supervision of excessive gambling. Such circumstances represent fertile ground for money laundering-related issues.

Acting More Proactively

According to the agreement between the regulator and the RIEC, as soon as problematic cases are spotted during enforcement actions such as raids and arrests, KSA will forward the case to the relevant Centers.

Being granted more authority, the regulator is now permitted to conduct an investigation in a variety of situations. The evidence of minors or young adults being involved, recidivism, highly-addictive behavior, as well as complaints involving offenses in multiple locations are some of those situations.

On top of that, under the Betting and Gaming Act, the Authority is allowed to enforce fines, administrative enforcement orders, and penalties.

Additional Measures to Keep the Industry Safe

In September this year, KSA donated funds to safer gambling initiatives, as a measure of raising awareness of the importance of responsible gambling. The beneficiaries that received financial support from the Authority include Jellinek, Gelfit and Bright at School program, all actively working on promoting safe and responsible gambling.

During the same month, the Authority conducted an investigation involving cashback bonus schemes, pointing out that they may result in riskier behavior. As a small reminder, in November 2022 all licensees received a notice which informed them that they should stop offering cashback bonuses to players.

On July 1, 2023, the ban on all forms of online gambling advertising issued by the Dutch government came into effect. The long-awaited ban encompasses all forms of advertising, aiming to keep the market well-protected.

From time to time, KSA issues financial penalties to gambling companies or affiliates who breach some of the rules determined by the local regulatory framework. For example, in February this year, two affiliates were fined EUR 1.8 million for offering games of chance without a permit.

Source:

“KSA publishes enforcement policy on illegal land-based gambling”, gamblinginsider.com, December 18, 2023.