Dutch gambling regulator fines two online gambling operators

The KSA says LCS Limited and Blue High House failed to cease accepting Dutch players.

The Netherlands.- The Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has issued penalty fees totalling €294,000 against LCS Limited and Blue High House for failing to cease accepting Dutch players.

LCS was previously issued with a penalty in 2022 in connection with the sons-of-slots.com site after being sent a cease and desist order. The KSA said an inspection in October 2023 found LCS offering unlicensed gaming via a different site, yugibet.com, for which it has issued a new fine of €165,000.

Blue High House has been fined €129,000 in relation to the site concreteline.ag. The KSA said a further fine may be issued if it fails to cease taking Dutch players.

KSA chairman René Jansen said: “An order subject to a penalty is more than a warning to an illegal provider. Illegal providers who do not take the correct measures to block Dutch players will be dealt with harshly by the KSA and will feel this where it affects them most, in their wallets.” 

The KSA’s new Online Duty of Care Department

Last week, Jansen revealed that the Dutch gambling regulator will create a new Online Duty of Care Department as a temporary measure. The special department will focus exclusively on monitoring the fulfilment of online gambling operators’ duty of care.

Announcing the news in a speech at Gaming in Holland in Amsterdam, Jansen said the KSA would take on ten to 15 new staff to run the department. The unit will begin operating on September 1. 

The launch is a response to cases of excessive gambling, which the regulator said showed that operators were not fulfilling their duty of care. Jansen said the new Online Duty of Care department would take swift, decisive action via warning letters, fines and other sanctions in cases where companies fail to meet the duty of care.