Dutch gambling regulator takes action against lottery operator over non-payment of fines
The KSA has initiated enforcement proceedings against The Path of Natural Energy Foundation to collect €60,000 in unpaid fines following the foundation’s failure to clarify a licensed lottery’s financial outcome.
The Netherlands.- The Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has announced that it has initiated enforcement proceedings to claim previously imposed fines on Stichting het pad der natuurenergie (The Path of Natural Energy Foundation). It says the foundation has so far failed to pay the fines totalling €60,000.
The KSA imposed the penalty payments on the foundation because, after organising a licensed lottery, it failed to provide clarity about the lottery’s financial outcome.
The regulator noted that parties that organise a lottery are required to donate 40 per cent of the proceeds to charity after the lottery ends. However, the foundation refused to provide insight into the lottery’s financial settlement, even after repeated requests.
Because the imposed fines were not paid, the KSA subsequently decided to proceed with collection. The supervisory authority has since initiated enforcement proceedings with the bailiff, and the Foundation’s file has been transferred to the Public Prosecution Service for possible further investigation.
The KSA said it considered it important to publish payment refusals because they can indicate that the foundation in question is unreliable. “This publication serves to warn consumers and other parties about the business practices of the lottery provider in question,” it said.
Concerns over new survey on Dutch gambling behaviour
Earlier this week, the KSA raised concerns about the ”romanticisation” of gambling after a survey found that 24 per cent of Dutch people indicate that people in their social circle consider gambling normal behaviour.
The research found that more men consider gambling to be normal than women do (32 per cent compared to 16 per cent). One in five Dutch people (18 per cent) say they regularly hear that gambling is a convenient way to make money quickly.
