The Dutch Gambling Authority (KSA) has imposed a fine of €6,794,000 on gambling operator, GoldWin Limited.

The fine was brought to GoldWin for offering illegal games of chance to Netherlands players via the westcasino.com website.

The fine

KSA determined the figure related to the fine by calculating based on a percentage of GoldWin’s estimated turnover from Dutch players.

The authority’s inspectors were able to create accounts, log in, and gamble on the westcasino.com website without any technical measures to prevent Dutch participation, such as IP blocking.

Additionally, the age of the participating players was not adequately verified. 

Warnings for GoldWin

Prior to this imposition, GoldWin had received a warning in January 2023 but did not respond to KSA’s communications.

GoldWin complied with an order to cease the illegal offering on April 20, 2023.

Despite this, however, the operator was still eligible to receive a fine for past violations. 

KSA stance

The KSA’s chair, René Jansen, has emphasised that illegal activities can still be punished, even subsequent to the issuance of a cease and desist order. 

He stated:

“We can often quickly put a stop to illegal supply with an order subject to a penalty. This does not mean that previously committed illegal activities disappear from view: they can still be punished.”

Only this week, MKC Limited, the operator of betworld247.com, also received a fine from KSA for the sum of €900,000 for offering games of chance without the appropriate licence.

MKC also displayed a similar inability to prevent Dutch players from accessing the website and its products. 

Dutch gambling growth

The Dutch market has grown rapidly since the implementation of the Dutch Gambling Act in October of 2021. This increased the number of licence holders from 10 to 27 in just 24 months.

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