The policy aims to provide clearer guidance while maintaining specific rules for certain violation types.
Key points:
- The KSA’s new policy introduces five categories with fines ranging from €500 to €2m
- The policy applies broadly but excludes areas like gaming machines and gambling terminals, which have separate rules
- Category 5 penalties exclusively target Wwft violations, while Category 4 includes turnover-based fines
- The KSA aims to deter violations through more transparent and proportional penalties
The Netherlands Gaming Authority (KSA) has introduced a new fine policy, effective 1 January 2025, aiming to establish clearer guidelines for regulatory enforcement in the Dutch gambling sector.
The policy introduces a structured five-category system for violations, with basic fines ranging from €500 ($516) to €2m.
The highest penalty tier (Category 5) is specifically reserved for violations of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act (Wwft).
This new framework maintains separate existing fine policies for specific violations – including illegal online gambling, unauthorised gaming machine operations and gambling terminal infractions. These areas retain their distinct fine systems due to their unique regulatory requirements.
Good to know: For Category 4 violations not related to Wwft, the KSA can impose turnover-based fines of up to 3% of the offender's gross revenue
Commenting on this development, KSA Chairman Michel Groothuizen stated: “The KSA is becoming increasingly professional as an organisation. After the opening of the online market in 2021, we were given a new category of licence holders. In 2022, we imposed the first fine on a licence holder.
“We have now gained enough experience to arrive at a well-considered fine policy for both licence holders and other parties. This creates clarity for the parties under our supervision and hopefully motivates them even more to avoid fines.”
This updated approach follows the KSA’s ongoing efforts to refine its regulatory oversight, including recent enforcement actions such as a €400,000 fine issued to Unibet’s parent company for allowing self-excluded players to gamble during the FIFA World Cup.
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