Online Gambling Operators Can Pre-Apply for Licence from the Dutch Gambling Authority

Online gambling operators will be able to apply for a gambling license by the Dutch gaming regulator.

Starting from Thursday, December the 4th, remote gambling operators that want to offer their services to Dutch customers will be able to pre-apply for a license issued by the Kansspelautorieteit (KSA), also known as the Dutch Gambling Authority. The KSA finally started the process of receiving applications two days after it issued a record fine to one well known operator that wasn’t respecting its regulations.

“Imperial E-Club Limited received from the Kansspelautorteit a fine of €200,000,” is part of the note published by the KSA. The regulator further explained that the company was operating seven sites where casino games and sports betting were offered and which were partly aimed at the Dutch market.

The Dutch gaming regulator announced its plans to accept operators that will declare their interests of offering gambling services on the Dutch market and published the pre-applying form on its official website. This means that online gambling will be officially legalised in the Netherlands and that Dutch players will finally be able to gamble at regulated sites.

Popular Companies Will Probably Invest In This License

Even though there is still no official information about the companies which are interested in obtaining this licence by the Dutch gaming regulator, there are some indicators that William Hill might be one of the first to pre-apply for it. Rupert Adams, William Hill’s International PR Manager, confirmed that the operator stopped offering its services in the Netherlands because they wouldn’t like to jeopardize the chances of obtaining a Dutch gaming license.

Another popular remote gambling operator who is expected to be one of the first companies to try and get the Dutch license is 888 Holdings. Since August, 2014, all marketing activities that targeted Dutch players were stopped and that was seen as a sign that 888 is preparing to apply for the license once the process is started.

€200k Fine for Europa Casino Operating Company

The Dutch gaming regulator fined Imperial E-Club Limited, the operating company of Europa Casino, TitanBet, Titan Poker and several other gaming brands, with a fine of €200,000 for offering online gambling services to Dutch customers. This enormous fine is the largest fine ever handed down to a remote gambling operator by the Dutch Authority.

According to Kansspelautorteit, the Dutch regulator, between June 2012 and October 2013 there has been an investigation in which Europa Casino was identified as an operator focusing on the Dutch market. After the site was warned, it removed the Dutch language from Europa Casino; however, other sites operated by Imperial E-Club Limited continued to target players from the Netherlands.

The Dutch regulator has warned operators several times that online gambling is technically illegal in the Netherlands and they are not allowed to offer these services to Dutch customers. The online operators didn’t seem to get these warning seriously and as a result several foreign operators were handed down high fines.

In October, 2014, Redcorp SA and Bluemay Enterprises NV received a €130.000 fine each for their attempts to attract Dutch customers by offering Dutch version of their websites.