Casumo faces €310k Dutch fine
Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has fined Malta-based online gaming operator Casumo €310,000 (£266,300/$347,000) for illegally targeting consumers in the Netherlands.
An investigation by the regulator found that Casumo’s website featured a number of elements that suggested it was targeting Dutch players, such as offering iDeal, the Netherlands' most popular method for online transactions, as a payment option.
In addition, the regulator has found that a live chat function on the website was providing answers in Dutch.
At present, online gambling is prohibited in the Netherlands, although this is set to change in the near future after the country’s Senate last month passed the Remote Gaming Act, paving the way for the roll-out of igaming regulation.
“The current Betting and Gaming Act does not offer the possibility to grant a license to be allowed to offer online games of chance,” KSA chairman René Jansen said.
“With the current law, we cannot protect consumers against unfair play. Nor is it possible to control the prevention of gambling addiction and the participation of vulnerable groups such as minors,” he explained. “Fortunately, with the entry into force of the new Remote Gambling Act, we will have the opportunity to do so.”
Casumo is the latest company to face such a fine in the Netherlands, with a host of other opertaors having also received similar punishments. 1xBet, William Hill, MRG and Betsson Group subsidiary Corona Ltd have all been handed penalties in recent months.
Last month, the KSA also increased its fines for unlicensed online gambling activities, after saying the previous maximum penalties were not large enough to deter operators.
The Dutch fine is significantly lower than the penalty issued to Casumo by the UK Gambling Commission in November of last year.
Casumo hit with a £5.85m financial penalty after the operator was found to have failed to put appropriate risk assessment processes in place to determine whether its iGaming offerings could be used to launder money.
The investigation also discovered that Casumo was not conducting proper due diligence processes on customers, and failing to determine the source of players’ funds.