Dutch regulator fines two operators

The gaming authority has issued two fines totalling €350k for offering online games of chance.

Netherlands.- The Dutch gaming authority, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has revealed it has issued two fines totalling €350k to CyberRock Entertainment and Honeydew for offering online games of chance in the country, which are not allowed by local laws.

Current Dutch legislation establishes that online games of chance are illegal, aimed to protect local consumers. CyberRock is based in Curaçao, while Honeydew is a Cyprian company, and both targetted Dutch consumers through play2wincasino.com and supremeplay.com.

The KSA reinforced the idea that operators can use geo-blocking technology to prevent being visible to Dutch users’ IP address. While this type of technology would not work against local players using VPN services to enter the websites without revealing the country where they’re playing, it would mean that the consumer is at fault, instead of the operator.

René Jansen, chairman of the board of directors of the authority said: “Many Dutch people do not know that online gambling in the Netherlands is illegal. Protecting consumers is an important objective of the KSA, in addition to preventing gambling addiction and combating illegality. Gambling with an illegal provider implies that the consumer is not protected. He is not sure of a fair game. There is also no control of participation by vulnerable groups, such as minors.”