The Dutch gaming oversight body, the Netherlands Gaming Authority (KSA), has chosen 25 gambling sites to keep an eye on as part of its new enforcement strategy. This strategy mandates that all unlicensed operators block Dutch customers.
The regulatory body stated that it would assess whether Dutch players could access any of the 25 websites. If they could, “penalties will be imposed.”
These penalties could apply not only to website operators but also to third parties, such as payment processors and promoters that serve the websites.
This monitoring comes as the KSA has shifted its approach to unlicensed gambling since the launch of the regulated online market in the Netherlands on October 1. Previously, operators only needed to avoid specifically targeting the Netherlands, but now they must block all customers from the country.
Since the market opened, some major operators have declared that they will block Dutch customers. Entain stated that this move would cost them £5 million per month in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), while Kindred said their EBITDA loss would be £12 million. Other operators that have blocked Dutch customers include LeoVegas, Betsson, Casumo, and 888. However, the KSA highlighted that many other operators are still accepting Dutch customers.
The governing body stated that there are now legitimate methods to operate and it is their duty to guide participants towards authorized operators.
The KSA declared the new strategy was formulated because the revised Gambling Act permits the legal provision of games of chance via the internet starting October 1. “At authorized providers, participants in games of chance can engage in a secure environment that offers dependable games and gives full consideration to gambling addiction.”
“The objective of the law is to direct players away from illicit providers to legal ones.”
Presently, only 10 operators have been granted licenses to offer online gambling in the Netherlands.
Bet365, UK-based bingo operator Tombola, and Play North Ltd, which is licensed in Malta and Estonia, are among the authorized operators, alongside Dutch land-based operator Holland Casino NV and the national lottery Nederlandse Loterij and its TOTO online betting brand.
Janshen Hahnraths Group with its FPO Nederland, Italy’s Betent, Belgian brand Bingoal, NSUS Malta which operates the GGPoker.eu brand, and sports media and betting business LiveScore Malta have also been given licenses.
The KSA anticipates receiving up to 40 license applications and expects to approve 35. However, the regulatory body announced in April that they had only received 28 applications.
Numerous online brands have been unable to obtain a license because a cooling-off period means potential licensees must have ceased providing online games of chance to Dutch consumers for at least two years.
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