KSA orders Betonline.ag to stop offering gambling in the Netherlands

The Dutch gambling regulator has issued a cease-and-desist notice to Blue High House.

The Netherlands.- The Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has issued a cease and desist order against Blue High House. It has told the operator of Betonline.ag to cease offering gambling services to customers in the Netherlands or face weekly fines of €43,000 up to a maximum of €129,000.

The KSA said it began investigating Blue High House in December 2021. It said that its investigators were able to create an account and to deposit funds and place bets from the Netherlands. It says the operator had implemented no technical precautions to prevent access from the country despite not having a Dutch online gambling licence. Moreover, the Netherlands was automatically selected as country of residence for sign up and the Dutch +31 country telephone code was automatically completed in the phone number section.

Investigators said that it was still possible to place bets from the a Dutch IP address in August 2023, while traffic data suggests that it received 136,569 visits from the Netherlands between May 2022 and May 2023. Blue High House was given until October 13 to respond but did not use the option.

Meanwhile, Malta-based LCS Limited has said that it will “aggressively” appeal against a €2.1m fine issued by the Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA). The fine was issued in relation to the MGA-licensed operator’s Sonofslots.com, which the KSA says was targeting the Netherlands without a local licence.

However, LCS claimed that fine is “excessively punitive” for what it says was a single incident over a year ago. It says that it has taken action to stop Dutch customers from accessing or registering for its online gambling offering.

The operator has also criticised the methodology that the KSA used to decide the amount of the fine, arguing that it was based on inaccurate estimated revenue figures. It has launched an appeal represented by the law firm Blenheim Advocaten.