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The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has issued warnings to two unnamed licensed operators for money laundering violations.
In an announcement on Thursday (November 10), the KSA said “players, including young adults, were able to lose and top up tens of thousands of euros in a short period of time, without the providers having to intervene or investigate. Such an investigation should, for example, focus on whether a player can afford such amounts or on the origin of the money.”
Within three months of the warning, the operators must have improved their player monitoring practices, with the KSA set to check if the operators have complied.
An investigation was launched into the companies after the KSA published its study into compliance with the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act in May 2022.
After the investigation in May flagged non-compliance, the KSA warned that continued shortcomings could lead to sanctions being imposed.
The KSA reminds operators that they must monitor the behaviour of their customers and act on it if there is unusual behaviour.
“Examples of this are when a player suddenly deposits high amounts or when there is a suspicion of match-fixing. Such incidents must be reported to the Financial Intelligence Unit Netherlands (FIU),” the KSA said.
Concerns stem from the KSA’s view that gambling addicts commit criminal activities to continue gambling.
A decision to not hand out a fine was also taken by the KSA during a recent separate enforcement issue. The KSA only warned the National Postcode Lottery (NPL) for using a role model in its advertising without researching its reach among young people.
The NPL avoided a fine, which the KSA said it could have handed out, as the concept of what a role model is defined as was not explicitly laid out in regulations until June 30, 2022.
