Out of a total of 22 investigations that were initiated by the regulator, 15 websites were found to have actually violated the Gambling Act. In 13 of the cases, an order subject to a penalty has been (or is set to be) issued, and the other two are still being investigated.
After the investigation, several of the websites discontinued their activity while others switched to advertising for licensed gambling providers and stopped advertising for illegal ones.
The cease-and-desist order’s intention is to stop the violation. The KSA will carry out re-inspections after the orders were imposed and if during the re-investigation, it appears the violation has not ceased, the imposed penalty will be forfeited and the penalty must be paid.
Additionally, the regulator stated it would periodically conduct research into the investigated websites to ensure they commit to respecting the regulations.
Since the launch of the regulated market, offering games of chance without a licence is prohibited in the Netherlands. The same rule applies to advertising games that are not licensed and it’s the duty of the website to ensure the game it advertises belongs to one of the regulated operators.
In affiliate marketing, the sites receive money each time people click through to the online games, meaning such websites have to comply with the regulations imposed by the KSA.
