Malta-based gambling operator Trustfulgames, the parent company of the iGaming brand Tiplix, will have to pay a €170,000 fine after it had been spotted offering online gambling services to Netherlands-located players, Dutch regulator Kansspelautoriteit announced on Tuesday.
The massive penalty was the first one to be imposed on a violator this year. It came after the local gambling authority announced late last year that it would adopt a new, firmer, approach toward trespassers. Under Kansspelautoriteit’s new code, gambling operators that run operations in the local market without being authorized to do so may face fines of up to €820,000, depending on the scope of their violations.
As explained by the regulator itself, it had been found out that Trustfulgames had offered online slots, casino games, and sports betting options in Dutch. The operator removed its Dutch-language version after it had found out that it had been investigated by Kansspelautoriteit, yet it kept rargeting local players.
Heavy fines had previously been imposed on other gambling operators, as well. In 2015, Recorp and Bluemay Enterprises had to pay €240,000 penalties each for repeated violations.
Except for the occasions when Kansspelautoriteit had decided to punish gambling companies for repeated breaches of its policies, it had previously been rather mild in its actions. Upon spotting operators with unauthorized operations in the local market, it had first informed those via letters that stricter measures would be taken, unless they withdrew their operations.
Legal online gambling is a rather fuzzy concept in the Netherlands. The country has been in the process of regulating its market for years now. A major step toward the realization of that end was made last summer when the Dutch Lower House finally passed a widely discussed iGaming bill. However, the legislative piece now needs green light from the country’s Senate in order to come into effect.
No date for a Senate vote has been set yet but it is believed that it may occur in the first quarter of 2017. Once adopted, the law will require from interested iGaming operators to obtain a license from Kansspelautoriteit in order to be allowed to operate in the regulated market. The gambling regulator has previously said that it will begin accepting applications immediately after the country’s new regulatory framework is set and implemented.
