KSA imposes a record fine for illegal online gambling in the Netherlands
The Netherlands Gambling Authority has fined Alimaniere Sociedad De Responsabilidad Limitada €1.05m for offering online gambling services in the country without a local licence.
The Netherlands.- The Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has taken decisive action against Alimaniere Sociedad De Responsabilidad Limitada by announcing a significant fine of €1.05m. This marks the second penalty issued to the company in just two months, underscoring the regulator’s commitment to tackling unlawful gambling activities within the Netherlands.
The case first came to light in November 2023 when KSA began investigating Alimaniere for offering illegal online gambling services through its website, Time2spin.com. Under Dutch law, games of chance and gambling activities are strictly regulated, and online casinos without the appropriate licence are prohibited. Despite this, consumers in the Netherlands were able to access and play these games through the website, which led KSA to issue an initial fine.
The first penalty, announced in November 2023, saw Alimaniere being ordered to pay €140,000 for each violation, with a cap of €420,000. This fine was intended to serve as a deterrent, but it did not have the desired effect. KSA discovered that despite taking action against Time2spin.com and making the site inaccessible to Dutch players, Alimaniere continued to offer gambling services on a different platform, Timetospin1.com.
In its latest ruling KSA revealed that Alimaniere had persisted in providing illegal gambling options to Dutch consumers through this second website. The regulator once again found that users could easily access and play prohibited games of chance. Additionally, the site featured country-specific options, such as a Dutch language interface, which further catered to the Dutch market.
KSA emphasised that Alimaniere ignored earlier warnings and continued to operate illegally, prompting the regulator to escalate the penalty. The new fine imposed on the company has been set at an amount nearly double the basic fine, around €1.05m, reflecting the severity of the repeated violations. According to KSA’s policies before the introduction of new rules last week, companies with annual revenues below €15m are typically fined €600,000 for such offences. However, Alimaniere’s disregard for Dutch regulations and its continued illegal operations warranted a significantly higher sanction.
The nature of the violation was further exacerbated by several concerning factors highlighted by the KSA. Among these, the absence of age verification on both Time2spin.com and Timetospin1.com was a key point of contention. This failure allowed minors to access gambling services, which is a direct violation of Dutch gambling laws. In addition, the websites featured an autoplay option, which could encourage users to gamble excessively without any breaks.
See also: Dutch gambling regulator blasts unlicensed operator for trying to evade enforcement
Furthermore, players who became inactive for a while faced financial penalties, adding to the list of problematic features on the sites. KSA Chairman Michel Groothuizen criticised these practices, stating: “The Netherlands has a legal market to ensure that people who want to gamble can do so safely. With illegal providers, we often see that no account is taken of the prevention of risky gambling behavior.”
Groothuizen went on to explain that KSA’s tough stance against Alimaniere was driven by concerns for the safety of Dutch players. “For example, there was a lack of age verification, which also allowed minors to play, and inactivity costs were charged when someone did not use their account for a while. We therefore take tough action against these types of parties,” he said.
This statement underscores KSA’s priority of ensuring a safe gambling environment, where vulnerable groups, particularly minors, are protected from the dangers of unregulated gambling.
