KSA slams €37m fine on alleged illegal gambling operator

• KSA slams an alleged illegal gambling operator with a €37m fine
• The operator is behind 11 websites, the KSA alleges
• These websites were accessible to Dutch IPs and had no visible age restrictions

The Netherlands ’ gambling regulator, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has issued its largest fine against an alleged illegal gambling operator to date. The fine, amounting to €37m and slapped on EOD Code SRL for offering illegal gambling, is the largest penalty the watchdog has meted out.

KSA metes out its largest financial penalty to date

The record fine is issued over the operator’s running of gambling products through the Instantcasino and Skyhills brands, among 11 websites identified by the regulator. This is not the first time the company has been targeted by the regulator with a financial penalty, with the latest enforcement action meant to adequately penalize the alleged wrongdoer.

According to the regulator, its employees were able to use various websites run by the group, with no measures put in place to prevent players from accessing the websites from the Netherlands. The KSA specifically listed 11 websites as offenders and breaching gambling laws in the country, to wit:

• SkyHills
• Slotmonster
• Betiro
• Betblast
• Fastslots
• Goldenpanda
• Sambaslots
• Winningz
• Incognitocasino
• Foxygold
• Luckypays

The KSA said that there were no measures enacted to prevent underage play and that the websites purposefully allowed cryptocurrency play, a payment method that is associated with money laundering, the regulator argued.

In drawing the penalty sum, the KSA estimated how much earnings EOD Code generated, determining that Dutch customers constituted a significant part of its revenue stream.

KSA has limited ways of enforcing large penalties in general

The KSA’s enforcement methods may be limited, depending on where a company is based. With no tangible assets in the Netherlands or the European Union, local regulators often find it hard to press on with their penalties, and collection proves difficult.

The Netherlands and the regulator have admitted as much, arguing that the country may be too small to act on its own. Regardless, the KSA has other means to at least try to hamper these websites from targeting Dutch people based in the country through collaboration with payment methods and ordering blocks.

The regulator may also turn to hosting providers to further request blocking orders.

Previously, KSA's largest fine was €24,846,000 issued against Novatech, the company behind Qbet.com and 55bet.com, its largest ever, raising concerns even then about whether the company would be able to collect.

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