The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has handed a “penalty payment order” to an unnamed business for “the illegal organisation of a promotional game of chance” to Dutch citizens, the regulator announced today, 17 June.
The KSA said it received multiple reports of a company raffling off cars as prizes “with some regularity” to customers who paid a “minimum amount” for products or services.
An investigation by the regulator found the offending company’s announcements for unlicensed games of chance posted on Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, while KSA staff observed a live draw on YouTube on 18 March.
The KSA had contacted the company and spoke to its lawyer on 17 March to warn a fine would be imposed if further draws took place. However, the warning was ignored and the online draw commenced the following day.
The regulator said comparable models of cars up for grabs were worth between €33,000 and €56,000, with the expected market value of the raffled value of the vehicles estimated between €42,000 and €48,000.
A KSA statement on the licensing rules in the Netherlands read: “Companies are allowed to give away prizes to promote their products, but various conditions apply to such promotions.
“For instance, a company, service, or product may only be promoted in this way once a year, participation must be free, and the company must publish the terms and conditions of participation on its website.”
As the company in question violated the rules, the KSA entered into discussions with the owner to reiterate the regulations on promotional activities alongside the consequences for non-compliance.
Having outlined the stipulations, the KSA said the business continued to hold prize draws after the meeting, leaving the regulator with no choice than to impose an “order subject to a penalty payment”.
A penalty of €150,000 per violation up to a maximum of €450,000 will be issued to the company should it “not cease the illegal operations immediately”.
Last week, the Dutch government unveiled a five-year plan to tackle gambling-related harm, including adding significant restrictions on gambling advertising.
Underlining its vigilance in the early stages of the World Cup, the KSA has taken action against a number of operators since the beginning of the tournament, starting with an €886,000 fine to 711 for duty of care failings.
Yesterday, 16 June, the regulator announced it had warned licensed operator Betnation for failing to perform checks on players registered with the Cruks self-exclusion system.
The post KSA threatens illegal prize draw company with fines of up to €450,000 first appeared on EGR Intel.
Rule-breaking company raffling off cars as prizes told to cease operations immediately or face €150,000 penalty per violation
The post KSA threatens illegal prize draw company with fines of up to €450,000 first appeared on EGR Intel.