KSA goes after another casino in Casbit Group NV case

The Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), or the Dutch Gambling Authority as it’s more commonly known outside the Netherlands, has gone after another online gambling operator in the country, the regulator announced on its official website.

According to the KSA, Casbit Group NV has been offering unlicensed online gambling products through the Lala Bet website and brand, deeming it appropriate to take enforcement action against the entity.

The KSA alleges that the Curaçao licensed Casbit Group NV has breached national regulation and has offered gambling products without a proper license locally. Originally, the KSA sought to collaborate with the offending party, the regulator explained, asking Casbit to restrict access to Lala Bet from the Netherlands.

Casbit confirmed that it had ensured all measures are in place. However, a further examination by the KSA indicated that the company’s website is still accessible to Dutch players, prompting a financial penalty that will cost the company €280,000 every week up to €840,000.

The KSA has insisted that it always seeks to protect consumers’ best interests and ensure that players are protected from what is described as illegal games of chance that could harm gamblers.

This new regulatory move comes after a series of similar undertakings by the Dutch Gambling Authority, which has been targeting various parties that allegedly offered illegal gambling on its territory. For one, the Kansspelautoriteit targeted Gammix Limited with a €19,679,000 financial penalty over similar breaches.

The penalty was described as outrageous by the affected company which said that it would contest it. The KSA has repeatedly appealed to offshore companies to ensure that their products are not available to Dutch players who reside in the Netherlands and has followed up.

The regulator recently went after another company, hosting service provider DigitalOcean, asking it to limit access to two websites whose owners were anonymous. The KSA did not name DigitalOcean as a complicit party in the operations of the offshore gambling websites, but only requested cooperation.

In the meantime, the KSA has also been on a mission to strengthen its own digital capabilities through a partnership with Cloudflare designed to help the regulator fight back against operators targeting the country’s players without a license.

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