Dutch gambling regulator issues two new fines

The Dutch Gambling Authority or Kansspelautoriteit, as the watchdog is known for its Dutch moniker, has targeted Goldwin Limited and MKC Limited in its latest enforcement action. The companies were named in the regulator’s latest round of financial penalties that topped €7.8m cumulatively.

Goldwin Limited was issued a €6,794,000 fine because, the regulator alleges, its Westcasino.com website was in violation of existing gambling laws in the country and allowed players from the Netherlands to connect to it, despite the fact that the brand did not have a license issued by the Kansspelautoriteit.

In another enforcement action on Monday, the regulator also targeted MKC Limited with a €900,000 fine over what the regulator said was offering to Dutch players illegal games of chance through the betworld247 dot com domain. MKC also does not hold any relevant licenses and has as a result violated the existing law.

The outgoing Kansspelautoriteit Chairman René Jansen explained both cases, saying that MKC limited allowed players to enter any age without the need to verify it. The website was called "seriously culpable," and Jansen argued that the brand has shown little attention to the safety of players.

As to Westcasino.com, the Kansspelautoriteit explained that the website had made insufficient effort to prevent players from accessing it and did not use what would be some of the common tools to achieve this. For one, there could have been IP filtering, the regulator explained. The regulator also stated that Goldwin had received one warning already in January 2023.

Accounts that were flagged as inspectors of the Kansspelautoriteit were restricted and were not allowed to gamble, but the regulator argued in its official press release that other accounts still could. Jansen said that the regulator was determined to pursue all offenses – both new and old, and that wrongdoing would be treated adequately by the law.

In April, Goldwin was issued a penalty and asked to discontinue access to players based in the Netherlands to its website. Goldwin didcollaborate with the measures at the time, but Jansen explained that fines may still apply, as is the present case. The size of these fines is rather severe and comes amid a flurry of similar enforcement actions by the regulator.

Not everyone has agreed with the KSA’s methodology over the past months, but the regulator has been adamant in its determination to mete out the punishments it finds apt and justified.

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