The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has revealed that it is formally investigating six unnamed operators regarding alleged duty of care failings.
It comes just over two months after the regulator reported that it had hit an operator with a €734,000 fine for similar shortcomings, though via an injunction the company remains unnamed.
Peter Rampertaap, the KSA’s coordinator of operational supervision, explained the latest developments while speaking at iGB L!VE today, 3 July.
When outlining recent regulatory action the authority has taken, Rampertaap cited the heavy fine issued in April as an example, before adding that duty of care failings remain a significant issue within the Dutch market.
“In the more extreme cases, we have seen operators that have players with big losses,” he said. “We issued a €734,000 fine to one operator, while six other operators are being formally investigated for similar infringements where players have lost money [and] shown problematic behaviour but the operator hasn’t done enough to intervene.”
In the case of the fine in April, the offending operator appealed to a district court for anonymity on the grounds publication of its identity would have “far reaching and irreversible consequences” for the business.
It also claimed that the alleged duty of care failures occurred when the KSA’s sanction criteria wasn’t outlined in the country’s gambling legislation, thereby rendering the fine decision unenforceable.
As part of his speech, Rampertaap summarised what the Dutch regulator expects from its licensed operators when it comes to duty of care conduct to customers.
He stressed the KSA’s stance that any intervention from an operator must come within two hours of spotting the potentially problematic behaviour from a player.
Rampertaap said: “We have seen things that are unacceptable. If you have to know the income of player you can’t just ask them – there has to be a documented example so a user can really show their income.
“We have started investigations into operators that are not complying with our guidelines and have held different meetings with the industry on how they should implement good practices. If they haven’t done it yet – we are a regulator, we will get to the point where we will intervene.”
In other KSA news, Rampertaap detailed how the regulator is in the process of taking into account non-financial indicators when assessing a player’s risk of gambling-related harm.
He added: “We are taking into account more than just player losses – we are looking at people in self-care groups, those who have gambling addictions, who don’t go to work or don’t see their family.
“They don’t have big financial losses, but the question is – is financial the best indicator [of gambling harm]? Sometimes, I don’t think it is.”
The post KSA reveals a further six operators under formal investigation over alleged duty of care failings first appeared on EGR Intel.
Dutch regulator’s coordinator of operational supervision Peter Rampertaap says the authority has seen “unacceptable” things from some licence holders
The post KSA reveals a further six operators under formal investigation over alleged duty of care failings first appeared on EGR Intel.