Netherlands Gaming Authority dishes out Euro 310 000 in fines
News on 11 Oct 2014
News on 11 Oct 2014
The Netherlands gaming authority, Kansspelautoriteit, has imposed a total of Euro 310 000 in fines on the companies behind 7red.nl/.com and royaalcasino.nl/.com for offering their gambling services to the market despite being issued a warning earlier this year.
While both sites converted to English language following the warning, they reportedly still continued to target the Netherlands market in Dutch on Facebook, through TV channels National Geographic, 24Kitchen and 13th Street and offered in their T’s & C’s a Dutch-focused bonus upon registration.
Acting on consumer complaints, the Kansspelautoriteit initiated an investigation into the figures behind the websites, curiously picking up payments in 2014 for both domains through a British company Megaten Ltd which apparently existed from 2004 to 2006.
It was also uncovered that a trust company acting on behalf of Bluemay Enterprises NV formerly served as a director on the board of the company.
The regulator extended its warning to Trust Companies saying: “If trust companies provide services to companies that operate illegally, then the trust company is also in contravention of Dutch Law”.
In closing its investigation, the regulator levied a total of Euro 310 000 in fines comprising: Redcorp SA – Euro 130 000, Bluemay Enterprises NV – Euro 130 000 and Bluemay Enterprises Ltd. – Euro 50 000.
The Dutch Central Bank weighed in by publicly urging Trust Companies to carefully assess the risk of accepting betting companies as clients and ensure rigorous background checks on their potential clients.
