Dutch gambling regulator issues warning over breaches of payout rules

The KSA found that 13 operators failed to comply with requirements.

The Netherlands.- The Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has contacted operators over alleged breaches of the country’s rules on payouts after a probe found that 13 may have failed to comply with licence requirements. The investigation found that nine operators obstructed payouts to customers while four were suspected of doing so.

The regulator had previously issued a reminder to operators in March, noting that the Dutch Gambling Act requires player payout requests to be actioned immediately without conditions. That means operators cannot set a minimum payout amount or wagering requirements.

The KSA has ordered all 13 providers to confirm in writing that they do not impose minimum withdrawal amounts or other requirements.

The regulator said:  “A provider may not impose structural conditions that prevent direct payment. Player credits must therefore be refunded without unnecessary delay. Nevertheless, the KSA receives signals that providers of online gambling do impose conditions on the payment of player credits.”

Earlier this month, the KSA’s new chairman, Michel Groothuizen, said that there will be continuity in the planned reforms of the Dutch Remote Gambling Act. Writing his first blog post since he took up the position on July 1, he referred to the new Dutch gambling minister and coalition government, which has stronger views against gambling, but said continuity and predictability would be key characteristics on his watch.

He wrote: “It would be a bit pretentious to compare the change of government at the KSA with the formation of a new cabinet. The comparison is only necessary because the moment when I succeeded my predecessor René Jansen practically coincided with the photo on the steps of the Schoof cabinet. Regardless of your political preferences, you can easily say that this is a special cabinet, with many new faces among the ministers and a different tone and, in a number of striking dossiers, emphatically different content than in the previous Rutte years.”