Gambling operators warned over “absolutely undesirable” breaches of account termination rules in the Netherlands
The KSA found that some operators had been trying to convince players not to close their accounts.
The Netherlands.- The Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit has warned operators that it has found that not all licensed gambling companies were properly following the Netherlands’ rules on account termination. The regulator issues a clarification on the rules, declaring its findings to be “unacceptable”.
It said that it must be made as easy as possible for gamblers to close their account when they request to do so. It also warned that operators must not try to convince players to stay.
“Gambling companies sometimes create barriers that make it more difficult to terminate an account, for example by requiring people to contact customer service first. The KSA emphasises that this is not permitted,” the KSA said. “When someone contacts customer service or chats themselves to request termination, the gambling company may not use that conversation to persuade people to stay.
The notice also provides additional clarification on what should happen with any remaining funds. Gambling companies must pay out the remaining money without undue delay and may not impose any conditions on this.
“The KSA emphasises that it considers the previously observed practices to be absolutely undesirable and that, with the new guidance, there should no longer be any ambiguity regarding how the process for closing accounts should be structured,” the regulator said.
Meanwhile, the KSA has revoked a lottery licence it says was obtained through professional fraud. Although the licence was registered in the name of football club Quick Boys from Katwijk, the KSA found that the club had not applied for a licence and had no connection with the websites on which the lottery was offered. Rather, an unknown party impersonated the club’s chairman during the KSA’s application process in order to obtain the licence. The scammer then used the permit to set up websites offering lottery tickets.
The websites in question are loterij.quickboys.nl, loterijenqb.com, besteloterijqb.com, nieuweqb.com, bestenl.com, topnetherlands.com, newloterij.com, and topsloterij.com.
