Dutch gambling regulator to probe cashback bonuses

The KSA says it has been alerted that an operator was using prohibited bonuses.

The Netherlands.- The Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has announced the launch of a probe into prohibited cashback bonuses. It has contacted all licensees to warn them to stop offering the promotions.

The move comes after the regulator was alerted that an operator was using such offers. The alert involved one specific operator, which the KSA did not name. The regulator said that the licensee stopped the promotion immediately when contacted. However, it says it will conduct a market-wide investigation into the promotions, which allow customers to recover some of their losses if they lose a bet.

The KSA says that such promotions are banned under Dutch advertising laws because they can encourage excessive gambling.

It said: “This breach showed that despite the earlier market-wide warning, licensees still appear to be working with cashback bonuses. We have therefore started a market-wide investigation. In the Netherlands, bonuses are classed as an advertising activity. According to the law, adverts may not encourage immoderate gaming behaviour. 

“It is our opinion that this is the case with cashback bonuses. They contribute to more risk-taking and lowering the threshold for gambling, for example by playing with higher stakes or playing more often.”

Dutch ban on gambling advertising

The KSA has reported that it has issued three warnings for violations of the Netherlands’ newly introduced ban on untargeted gambling adverts. The ban entered force on July 1, covering all untargeted ads on TV, radio and in public places.

However, the KSA says that it identified three cases in which gambling adverts on billboards and bus shelters remained in place after the ban came into effect. It says that after it contacted the three operators in question to ask for information about the campaigns, they took “adequate responses and immediate action”. As a result, the regulator decided to issue warnings rather than fines. It says that the adverts did not reappear.