KSA issues €4.4m fine against Malta-based Gammix

The Dutch gambling regulator says Gammix has failed to cease operations in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands. The Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has issued a €4.4m fine against Gammix for failing to comply with an order to stop operating in the Dutch online gaming market. The KSA issued a cease-and-desist order in June last year.

The regulator says the Malta-based gaming operator has been offering products to Dutch players without a local licence, putting it in breach of the Netherlands’ Remote Gambling Act. It previously visited two Gammix-operated websites, Rantcasino.com and Nordslot.com, and found that it was possible to place a bet from the Netherlands.

The KSA said that it was able to create player accounts from a Dutch IP address, supplying details including address and nationality. It was also able to make a deposit and play online games.

The KSA had warned Gammix that it would issue the operator with a penalty of up to €1.4m per week for every week that it continued to operate in the Netherlands market, up to a maximum penalty of €4.4m. Gammix said at the time that it disagreed with the decision.

The KSA says it has performed follow-up checks and that it was still able to access the sites when registering as a Dutch player. It says the operator is now liable for the maximum fine.

KSA chairman René Jansen said: “We must continue to fight illegal supply. An order subject to periodic penalty payments is often effective within administrative law to stop a violation. Not in this case, because the violation has not completely ceased, so we take the next step. 

“We do not want an order subject to periodic penalty payments to be ignored, because that would make the remedy less effective. Anyone who violates and continues to continue must pay. It’s that simple.”

Earlier this month, the KSA revealed that it had fined five online gambling operators a total of €26m. The fines were issued against operators that the KSA says were targeting the market without local licences.

The operators hit with penalties are N1 Interactive, Videoslots, BetPoint Group, Probe Investments and Fairload Limited. The KSA says the fines were issued in December 2022 but it has only just made the announcement because the operators had made legal appeals to attempt to block the regulator from naming them publicly.

Videoslots and N1 Interactive have denied any wrongdoing. Videoslots said it would appeal after being fined €9.9m for displaying the KSA logo on its website despite not having a Dutch online gaming licence. The operator says this was a mistake that occurred during tests and that the logo was soon removed. It denies targeting the Dutch market and claims the KSA’s fine is based on “guesstimates”.