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The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has placed a penalty payment order of up to €250,000 on one of its licensees for supplying inadequate information following a takeover by a foreign company.
The regulator said it would begin fining the licensee €25,000 per day, to a maximum of €250,000, within 20 working days if the unnamed operator did not supply all of the information requested.
As the takeover changes the company’s management, the company must inform the regulator of changes in management or other decision-makers so the KSA can test the integrity of the individuals, the KSA said on Wednesday (September 11).
The agency said checks include looking to see if the individuals held positions with companies that offer illegal gambling or that committed relevant violations or criminal activities.
After the completion of the takeover, the KSA requested more information several times but received incomplete data.
“The KSA emphasises that the integrity of providers has a high priority and that it is the provider's responsibility to demonstrate this reliability with the correct information,” the agency wrote.
If information is not complete, or the individuals are deemed unreliable, the agency said it can take enforcement action.
Elsewhere, Teun Struycken, state secretary for legal protection, told parliament that he would like to examine whether to give the KSA authority to block illegal gambling websites.
An amendment had previously denied the regulator such power, with lawmakers citing concerns about internet freedom.
But now the government will also look at other options for enforcing Dutch gambling law, as website blocking “is not a panacea”, he told members of parliament.
Struycken said he expects to report on the topic in the week of October 28, when an evaluation of the 2021 Gambling Act is expected to be released.
