183 interested in the Netherlands
as regulator issues more fines

Dutch gaming authority, Kansspelautoriteit, has provided a further update regarding the pending legalisation of online gambling, after reporting that it has received 183 notifications from interested parties who are considering submitting an application for offering online gambling.

Of those, 89 come from companies outside of the Netherlands’ borders, with 83 of the interested parties holding an online gambling licence abroad.

Application costs are to be set at €45,000 with a financial guarantee of €830,000 having to be issued, as the Ksa stresses that despite the number of interest notifications received it does not guarantee that each will be granted a permit.

Applicants are to be tested for reliability and integrity as well as certain conditions in the field of business operations, including if there’s an addiction prevention policy, if player credit is separated from other funds, how player identification works and how quality assurance is arranged.

Currently setting up the licensing process in the context of the Remote Gambling Act, applicants have until June 21 to indicate that they are potentially interested in securing a permit through the Ksa website.

If the law formally enters into force the Ksa can process license applications, with an expectation set for it to come into effect on July 1, 2020, and the market for online gambling to open on January 1, 2021. 

Furthermore, the Ksa has issued further fines after the Court of the Hague ruled in its favour following a lengthy appeals process.

Initially dating back to 2017 when the decision was first taken, the authority has penalised Simbat Entertainment Systems €270,000 for offering online games of chance, with Spinity fined €100,000 for the promotion of participation in those titles.

The Ksa stated that the fine for Simbat was imposed “because the company offered games of chance via at least eleven different websites,” with Spinity acting as a ‘promotional agent’ and was deemed guilty of promoting Simbat’s gambling games.