Unibet, the flagship brand of online gambling operator Kindred Group, has withdrawn its objection to the six-figure fine it was slapped with by the Netherlands Gambling Authority over the summer.
The move means that the financial penalty has now become irrevocable and that Unibet’s parent company has probably paid it or plans to pay it.
In August, Kansspelautoriteit, known to be the Dutch gambling watchdog, hit Unibet with a €470,000 fine to punish it for servicing Dutch gamblers. The fine was issued after the regulator conducted a probe into the popular betting and gaming brand’s activities and discovered a series of violations of Dutch gambling regulations.
Kansspelautoriteit found that Unibet had targeted local gambling customers between August and December 2018. Over that period Dutch players and bettors were able to use locally popular payment method iDEAL to move funds to and from accounts they had with Unibet.
In addition, the gambling site offered customer support in Dutch language and did not list the Netherlands as a restricted territory. Dutch gamblers were able to play slots and table games and to bet on sports on Unibet.eu.
Back then, Unibet’s parent company moved quickly to protest the penalty, but according to Kansspelautoriteit’s website, it has withdrawn its objection. The regulator’s site does not say when that has happened, though.
Unibet Clearly Looking to Join the Netherlands’ Regulated iGaming Space as Soon as Possible
Unibet withdrawing its objection to Kansspelautoriteit’s fine indicates that the operator will look to be among the early entries into the Netherlands’ regulated iGaming space.
The Dutch gambling market was expected to be opened on January 1, 2021, but it emerged last month that the launch of the first regulated online gaming and betting operations under the Netherlands’ Remote Gambling Act has been pushed to mid-2021.
The delay was due to the Dutch government requiring a bit more time to craft a secondary online gambling legislation. Under the new timeline, the Netherlands’ revamped gambling law that would pave the way for international companies to operate in a regulated environment would take effect on January 1, 2021. First regulated operations would then go live on July 1, 2021.
Unibet removed iDEAL as an available payment option from its .eu website in February 2019. This means that the company would be eligible to apply for a license from February 2021 and could be among the early entries into the reorganized and liberalized Dutch digital gambling space.
Under the Remote Gambling Bill passed by the Dutch Senate this past February, operators that have been fined by Kansspelautoriteit would be required to serve a two-year cooling-off period before being able to apply for a license under the new regulatory regime.
In other words, an operator willing to apply for a license from Kansspelautoriteit must make sure that it has not actively serviced Dutch gamblers for at least two years prior the date it submits its license application.
Source: https://casinovergelijker.net/unibet-trekt-bezwaar-tegen-boete-kansspelautoriteit-in/
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