Dutch regulator to reveal operators refusing to pay fines

Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) is to begin publicising operators that refuse to pay fines, in order to help consumers to identify unlicensed and illegal websites.

The KSA is able to impose fines on operators that breach the country’s Gambling Act, including those that offer services in the Netherlands without a licence. At present, all forms of online gambling are illegal in the country.

When an operator does not pay a fine, the KSA begins a collection procedure, which was previously not publicised. However, the regulator will now publish information about this process on its website.

Operators will have the opportunity to give a reason for the non-payment, while for those businesses that later pay the fine or make a payment arrangement, the payment refusal will be removed from the KSA’s website.

“Some of the providers assume their responsibility for the penalty imposed by paying the fine, some providers try to escape their punishment,” the KSA said. “If the provider refuses to pay, the KSA sees a strong indication that that provider is unreliable.”

The Netherlands is due to open a regulated online gambling market in January 2021 after the Dutch Senate in February voted to pass the Netherlands’ Remote Gambling Act.

New online gaming laws are scheduled to come into force from 1 July 2020, subject to final approval from the Ministry of Justice and Security. After this, the KSA will draw up licence conditions ahead of the market launch six months later.

However, new licences will only be made available to operators that have had no activity in the Netherlands in the two years prior to the introduction of the new laws.