The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has fined NetX Betting Limited €675,000 (£561,940) after the operator was adjudged to have offered unlicensed gambling on two separate websites.
The regulator determined that the two websites, Pferdewetten.de and Betbird.com, were accessible to Dutch players without holding the necessary licence to operate in the country.
NetX Betting was fined an initial €600,000 plus an extra €75,000 over what the KSA called an “aggravating circumstance” – the company had charged players a €5 inactivity fee if their account was unused from the 13th month.
Visitors to both sites were able to bet on horse racing, something the KSA argued falls under “games of chance”, despite NetX Betting’s counterprotests.
The regulator’s investigation, which dates back to December 2022, found that the Malta-based operator made no attempt to prevent Netherlands-based players from participating.
As a result, NetX Betting fell foul of the country’s Betting and Gaming Act – specifically Article 1, first paragraph, opening sentence and section A – and has been ordered to immediately cease offering games of chance without the required licence.
In December 2022, Pferdewetten.de was scrutinised by the authority and was found to be accessible from a Dutch IP address, while it was also possible to make a deposit and participate in games of chance.
A second investigation in April 2023 outlined that no changes were made. The KSA issued a penalty payment order and a cease-and-desist order two months later.
In September 2023, NetX Betting claimed that Pferdewetten.de was shut down, though players could still access and participate in the same way as before.
That same month, the investigation into Betbird.com began and unearthed identical problems to that of the other site under NetX Betting’s control.
The KSA’s report on the entire incident was drawn up that November, before NetX Betting issued a response in January 2024.
The operator did not deny that it had infringed Article 1 of the Betting and Gaming Act, but argued that an IP blocker was used, which allowed someone based in the Netherlands to set up an account and make a deposit.
Once NetX Betting had determined that the account was Dutch-based, the operator insisted it closed the account.
The penalty amount was determined by NetX Betting’s Dutch turnover which, according to the KSA’s report, is less than €15m.
Regarding the €5 user inactivity fee, the operator argued it was standard practice in the industry.
KSA chair Michel Groothuizen explained the regulator’s stance: “Dutch players need to be protected: that is why we are cracking down hard on illegal offers. We see that illegal providers often pay little attention to the player and do not adhere to a duty of care.”
Addressing NetX Betting’s offences, he added: “Here, for example, we saw the practice that players who are inactive for a long time after creating an account are given a ‘fine’ by the provider.
“If they do not play for a certain period of time, an amount of €5 per month is charged. A player is then punished if he does not participate in the (illegal) games of chance offered.
“That, of course, goes beyond all bounds.”
NetX Betting was the latest firm to incur the KSA’s wrath in recent weeks after both BlockDance and WinBet were given weekly €280,000 fines – the former for offering online gambling without a licence and the latter for operating four illegal gambling websites.
The post Dutch regulator fines NetX Betting €675,000 for offering illegal gambling first appeared on EGR Intel.