Catena Media ordered to cease Dutch operations

liate network Catena Media have been issued with a cease and desist order by the Dutch gambling regulator, after it found that company's advertising of iGaming brands had violated the Netherlands' gaming regulations.

The Kansspelautoriteit have ordered the Malta-based firm to stop all of its current promotional activities and to refrain from any promotional work in the future. Regulators have stated that Catena Media will be liable for a fine of up to €21,000 if it fails to comply with this order.

According to the order, Catena Media targeted Dutch players in promoting a number of different iGaming operators on affiliate websites including pellenoverzicht.com, gokoverzicht.com, and netentcasino.nl. All three sites are now blocked to players in the Netherlands following the publication of the order.

Under the new Dutch online gambling rules introduced in May, iGaming operators and their affiliates are not allowed to target local players by using typically Dutch symbols, such as tulips and windmills.

In addition, .nl affiliate websites are prohibited from directing Dutch players to .com iGaming websites. Operators that have failed to block traffic from the country are also considered to be violating its gambling regulations and could face fines from the Kansspelautoriteit.

A full iGaming legal framework is currently working its way through the Dutch Senate and is expected to pass into law some time in 2018.