KSA warns web hosting providers over gambling ad rules

The warning comes after the regulator issued binding instructions to ISP provider Cloudflare.

The Netherlands.- The Dutch gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has issued a warning to web hosting providers to make sure they respect the Netherlands’ rules on gambling advertising.

It comes after the regulator issued binding instructions to Cloudflare ordering it to cease hosting services for the affiliate websites of Nederlandscasinos.net and Onlinecasinosspelen.com, which it says were advertising unlicensed gambling. The owners of the two sites are unknown, leading the KSA to issue the order to the hosting provider.

The KSA said: “Cloudflare is instructed to discontinue its services to these affiliates. Dutch players can participate in illegal games of chance via said websites.”

It said that services must be stopped “no later than two weeks” after the instructions had been sent. If not, the KSA may impose sanctions.

Last week, the KSA fined BetEnt €3m for anti-money laundering and terrorist financing failings. The operator, which offers online gaming and sports betting and gambling in Holland under the BetCity brand, now belongs to London-listed Entain.

With the Dutch online gambling market having been up and running for two full years, KSA chairman René Jansen said “there are no more excuses” for breaches. He said: “In May last year, the KSA issued a broad warning to licensed providers that they had to quickly get Wwft matters in order. We indicated that if research shows that providers are underperforming in the field, sanctions will be imposed. We’re now following up on this. We are really out of the start-up phase of the market and that also means that there are no more excuses for some things.”