KSA fines three firms for illegal gambling ads
The Dutch Gambling Authority has imposed penalty payments against three companies for promoting unlicensed gambling.
Key points:
– SBM Holding Group, Sun Block Media Labs 2.0 and JEF Holdings face weekly fines of €75,000 ($87,685) for promoting illegal gambling offers
– The website resumed advertising unlicensed operators after a change of ownership
– Despite warnings, the parties failed to respond, leading to domain action and permanent takedown
The Dutch gaming regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has taken an enforcement action against three companies – SBM Holding Group, Sun Block Media Labs 2.0 and JEF Holdings – by imposing conditional fines for continued advertising of unlicensed gambling through the website CasinoScout.nl.
The fines amount to €75,000 ($87,685) per week per company and follow a string of infractions by the site’s operators.
CasinoScout.nl had previously restricted its advertising to legal providers but changed course after a new ownership structure was introduced, then the site began promoting illegal gambling offers again.
After issuing formal warnings without receiving any response, the KSA worked to take the domain offline. The site temporarily went down but returned with an IP block targeting Dutch users. However, further inspection revealed continued advertising of illegal gambling.
Good to know: The KSA reported that 93% of Dutch players now choose legal platforms after stricter consumer protection rules
The Authority has recently expressed satisfaction with the results of its sports sponsorship ban and released findings on the effectiveness of enhanced player protection measures.
Investigators also found that CasinoScout.nl linked to another site, besteonlinecasinonederland.com, owned by the same three entities and similarly promoting unlicensed offers.
As a result, the penalty payments apply to all related platforms controlled by the parties.
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