Bet-at-home fined €410,000 by Dutch regulators
Bookmaker fined for operating without a licence
German headquartered sports betting operator Bet-At-Home has been fined €410,000 by the Dutch gambling authority (KSA) following an investigation which found it had been offering online gambling without a Dutch licence last year.
Bet-At-Home was found to be using Dutch symbols were on its website between 14 June 2017- 11 October 2017.
Under the Dutch prioritisation criteria, online gambling operators that use the Dutch language in their websites or advertising, or operate websites with the extension .nl, are liable for investigation by the KSA.
In December 2016, the KSA revealed that they would no longer be sending out warning letters to those online gaming providers under investigation prior to the commencement of enforcement proceedings against them.
Following this in May 2017, the KSA released further guidelines prohibiting operators and their affiliates from targeting local players by using typically Dutch symbols, such as tulips and windmills.
If found to be in violation of these rules, the KSA has the legal authority to impose an order under administrative coercion, a penalty and / or an administrative fine. The maximum fine which it can levy is capped at € 830,000.
A lawsuit concerning the validity of these new regulations was filed by Betsson AB, who argued that these regulations were in breach of EU law, however that lawsuit was dismissed by a judge in The Hague in September 2017.
No comment has been made Bet-at-home following publication of this financial penalty.