Dutch Gaming Authority hits Betent with €400,000 fine

The Kansspelautoriteit, the Dutch gambling regulator, has issued a new fine to the tune of €400,000 against Betent, a gambling firm. The company was targeted by the regulator over breaches of regulation that specifically prohibits gambling entities operating in the country from targeting individuals in the age groups of 18-24 as part of their marketing efforts.

The KSA launched a probe into alleged breaches by Betent which were first flagged by Kassa, a TV program, which contended that the betting company sent gambling inducements to individuals aged 18-24 in the period between October 2021 and March 2022. The current legislation in the Netherlands explicitly forbids this practice.

This particular cohort is considered a vulnerable group that may be more susceptible to gambling advertisements and thus develop a problem with the activity. Therefore, the government and regulators have decided to prohibit firms from communicating marketing messages to individuals in the age group.

However, Betent has come short of these regulations, the KSA claimed. Commenting on the case and the general implications of the fine, KSA Chairman René Jansen, argues that young adults must be protected from gambling advertising at all costs. Jansen said that over the past months, the company had issued four similar fines, and that the regulator was now carefully monitoring companies for ensuring that they do not offer games of chance to individuals in the specific vulnerable group.

The breaches that Betent was fined for were linked to the Betcity.nl brand, which has promoted games of chance to young people. The regulator has reiterated on several occasions that the brains of young people aged 18-24 are still developing, and they were therefore more susceptible to pernicious influences such as gambling addiction.

BetCity has concurred with the KSA’s ruling but also suggested that there was ambiguity in the way the language by the regulator was set. The brand nevertheless welcomed the opportunity to see a clarification in practice which should help guide the industry as a whole in the matter.

Betcity.nl and Betent are now owned by Entain, but the failings that the regulator had issued the penalty for concern the period prior to the companies’ acquisition in June 2022. Meanwhile, the KSA has been very active in issuing fines and attempting to protect consumers.

The company has hit a number of companies with fines over various similar breaches, including JOI Gaming, Toto Online and Hillside New Media Malta. All companies were hit with €400,000 penalties.

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