Dutch KSA issues a €310,000 fine to Casumo

The Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has maintained its promise to crack down on illegal gambling operators after issuing a €310,000 (£266,300) to Malta-based operator Casumo.
The investigation carried out by the KSA detailed how Casumo’s website displayed a lot of Dutch-focused features such as the inclusion of iDeal as a payment option, the Netherland’s most popular online transaction method.
In addition, the regulator was also found to have also included a live chat function which would also provide answers in Dutch, further suggesting that the site was tailored to Dutch customers.
“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.”
Online gambling is currently off-limits in the Netherlands, although following the approval of the Remote Gaming Act by the country’s Senate, that may be a thing of the past.
Casumo joins 1xBet, William Hill, MRG, and the Betsson group who have all previously been hit with similar fines from the Dutch regulator over similar infractions.
The fine comes swiftly after the KSA announced it would be upping the fines for unlicensed online gambling activities, stating that the previous penalties were not sufficient deterrents for operators.
The news comes after the regulator’s crackdown on gambling operators across the Netherlands as, during the course of 2018, it issued fines totalling €1.7m to European operators.
It stated at the time that the operators had continually breached Dutch digital laws, despite numerous warnings to stop all betting activities in The Netherlands.