KSA orders Gammix to pay €4.4m over failure to cease operations

Last June, KSA imposed a cease-and-desist order on Gammix for illegally offering games to Dutch customers without holding the relevant licence, placing it in breach of the country’s Gambling Act.

At the time, the regulator said it had visited two of Gammix’s websites – Rantcasino.com and Nordslot.com – on several occasions to see whether it was possible to place a bet from the Netherlands.

KSA said that it was able to create a player account from a Dutch IP on both websites, which involved supplying a full name, date of birth, address details and nationality, as well as make a deposit and play online games.

In response, KSA said it would order the operator to pay a penalty of up to €1.4m per week for each week it failed to exit the country’s market, with a maximum penalty of €4.4m.

Gammix previously stated that it did not agree with the decision, but this was rejected by the regulator.

Following further checks, KSA said it was still able to gain access when registering as a Dutch player. As Gammix failed to take action and stop offering online gambling in the Netherlands, KSA has now ordered Gammix to pay the maximum penalty of €4.4m.

“We must continue to fight illegal supply,” KSA chairman René Jansen said. “An order subject to periodic penalty payments is often effective within administrative law to stop a violation. Not in this case, because the violation has not completely ceased, so we take the next step. 

“We do not want an order subject to periodic penalty payments to be ignored, because that would make the remedy less effective. Anyone who violates and continues to continue must pay. It’s that simple.”