Kansspelautoriteit, the Dutch gambling authority, has imposed a fine of €6,794,000 on GoldWin Limited for offering illegal games of chance.
According to the authority, GoldWin violated the Dutch gambling act by offering online gambling on its westcasino.com platform without having a licence from the KSA.
The KSA noted that its inspectors were able to create an account on the website, log in and participate in online gambling. They also stated that the platform didn’t have any technical measures – such as an IP blockade – to stop participants from the Netherlands, while player age was not visibly verified.
The gambling authority sent a warning to the operator in January 2023 to stop their illegal offering, which the KSA say GoldWin didn’t respond to. They added that when a login attempt was made with a recognised KSA inspector account, gambling was not possible, but the website could still be visited in the Netherlands with other accounts.
On April 20, an order subject to penalty with a requirement to immediately stop any offerings was imposed on GoldWin by the KSA, a demand which the authority said the operator met.
The KSA added that providers who receive a cease and desist order to stop their offering immediately ‘may still be fined for the violation that occurred before the order was imposed’.
The fine for the operator is also determined based on the ‘percentage of the estimated turnover for GoldWin Limited from Dutch players’.
René Jansen, Chairman of the KSA, commented: “We can often quickly put a stop to illegal supply with an order subject to a penalty. This does not mean that previously committed illegal activities disappear from view: they can still be punished.”
Earlier this week, the KSA also handed out a €900,000 fine to MKC Limited, operator of the betworld247.com platform, for offering games of chance without a licence.
