The Dutch online gambling market has long been among Europe’s most attractive ones. Despite the lack of proper regulations authorizing the provision of online gaming and betting services by international companies, some of the world’s largest online gambling operators have been targeting Dutch customers for years now.
However, their actions have not remained unnoticed by Dutch gambling regulators. What is more, they have drawn quite some ire and have resulted in Kansspelautoriteit, the Netherlands’ gambling regulator, undertaking counteractions in a bid to prevent unlicensed activities from taking place on the county’s territory.
Most prominently, the regulatory body has imposed hefty fines on erring operators to punish them for servicing Dutch customers without being authorized to do so. And historically, Kansspelautoriteit’s counteractions have been contested in court by the companies the fines have been slapped on.
Most recently, a long-running case involving Malta-licensed gambling companies Mansion/ONISAC and Co-Gaming concluded with the Netherlands’ Council of State siding with Kansspelautoriteit and issuing a ruling that the gambling regulator was right to impose fines on the two operators for targeting Dutch players.
It was back in 2013 and in 2014 when the Gambling Authority slapped a €150,000 fine on Mansion and a €180,000 one on Co-Gaming, respectively, for offering online games of chance in Dutch language and thus violating Dutch gambling regulations.
The two companies contested the penalties in the Hague District Court. However, it ruled in favor of Kansspelautoriteit in July 2017. Mansion and Co-Gaming together appealed that ruling in the Council of State, which issued its decision on the matter last week.
Mansion, which owns the Casino.com and Mansion Casino brands, among others, announced on September 25 that it would no longer accept Dutch players to its websites starting from September 26. Existing accounts will be closed to deposit and play from October 3. Players will receive emails informing them that they will only be able to withdraw funds from that day onwards. Existing accounts will then be closed completely on October 10.
Concerns over Future Licenses
Mansion and Co-Gaming are just two of a number of companies to have been imposed fines by Kansspelautoriteit over the past several years. Betsson and Mr Green have been the latest such companies to be fined by the regulator for targeting Dutch players. The former was slapped a €300,000 fine, while the latter was fined €312,500.
It should be noted that the Netherlands is in the middle of a lengthy process for the re-regulation of its online gambling market in a manner that would allow international operators to apply for licenses and operate in a regulated environment. However, lawmakers have been debating the possibility for companies that have been fined by Kansspelautoriteit to be temporarily or permanently banned from applying for licenses.
Dutch Minister for Justice and Security Sander Dekker has said recently that erring operators might be required to wait for a little while before being offered the opportunity to apply for a license after the liberalization of the local market. Companies that have observed local regulations prior to the re-regulation process will thus be given a head start in the new gambling environment.
