The Dutch gambling authority, Kansspelautoriteit, has issued a second financial sanction to online gambling provider Bingoal following a further violation within the country.
A fine of €400,000 for advertisements being aimed at young adults (18-24) follows a €350,000 penalty being handed down in February. This came after it was found that “for a number of days in June 2022” players were permitted to access the site without consulting the Cruks self exclusion system.
This becomes the latest punishment issued by the Ksa in the context of this investigation, with Bingoal following four other providers in being punished for advertising aimed at young people.
“The Ksa started an investigation following a broadcast of the TV program Kassa, which showed that between October 2021 and March 2022 “Bingoal sent advertising messages to users aged 18 to 24,” a statement issued by the regulator read.
“That is not allowed, because young adults are a vulnerable target group. The brains of young people are still developing. As a result, they are extra susceptible to a gambling addiction.”
Already this year, the Ksa has been on something of a regulatory rampage after issuing a slew of sanctions, which includes handing out penalties of €900,000 to Shark77, €400,000 to Joi Gaming and €900,000 each to Equinox Dynamic from Curaçao and Slovakia’s Domiseda and Partners.
Furthermore, a total of €26m in penalties was handed down to N1 Interactive (€12.64m), Videoslots (€9.87m), Betpoint Group (€1.78m), Probe Investments (€1.12m) and Fairload (€900,000), as part of a total package of €26m.
During March the Ksa also voiced an intention to collect a €4.41m penalty payment from Gammix after an appeal to the sanction was rejected, with Hillside New Media Malta, bet365’s Malta-based operating company, fined €400,000 and a fine of €675,000 fine issued to Red Ridge Marketing.
Elsewhere, a cease and desist order issued to Winning Poker Network, while Entain owned BetEnt was fined €400,000 for advertising violation and Merkur Casino Almere received a fine of €45,000.
Most recently, The National Postcode Lottery and Friends Lottery were hit with an order subject to periodic penalty payments subsequently imposed.
This is due to each offering online games that are not permitted according to the lottery permits held. If this was not ceased immediately, both parties were warned of a penalty of €250,000 per week up to a maximum of €1m.
