Dutch gambling regulator fines BetCity’s Betent over ad breaches
The KSA launched an investigation following a TV report on the operator.
The Netherlands.- The Dutch regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has issued a €400,000 fine against Betent, a brand belonging to Entain’s BetCity. The regulator found that it had targeted adverts at young adults aged 18 to 24 in breach of the Netherlands’ gambling legislation.
The regulator began an investigation into the matter after claims were made in the investigative television programme Kassa, which reported that Betent had sent advertising to players aged 18 to 24 between October 2021 and March 2022. The KSA found that the operator had effectively sent messages about its games at Betcity.nl without taking measures to prevent them from reaching under 24s.
Dutch law does not allow operators to advertise to this age group because it was decided that they were “more susceptible to gambling addiction” because their “brains are still developing”.
This isn’t the first fine that the KSA has imposed for this kind of advertising breach. In recent months, it has issued identical penalties to bet365’s Hillside New Media Malta, JOI Gaming and Toto Online. Meanwhile, the Netherlands is preparing for the introduction of a complete ban on untargeted gambling ads from July 1 – the same date that neighbouring Belgium also introduces a gambling ads ban.
KSA chairman René Jansen said: “The law prohibits games of chance providers from targeting young adults with advertising. The KSA monitors this closely and with these four sanctions it once again underlines how important it is that providers of games of chance respect the rules that are intended to protect vulnerable target groups.”
Betent’s failings date back to before Entain’s acquisition of Bet City, which it announced in June 2022 and completed in January as a means to re-enter the Dutch market. Bet City has accepted the ruling, but it said that it believed that the language of the regulations was ambiguous and unclear. It said it welcomed the KSA’s ruling for the clarity it provided.
