The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has fined Unibet €4m (£3.5m) for duty of care failings between July 2022 and July 2024.
The Dutch regulator handed the fine to licensee Optdeck Service Limited via which Unibet operates in the market.
In a 71-page ruling published on Monday (1 December), the KSA said Unibet failed to analyse player behaviour, implement intervention measures and conduct interviews with users.
The KSA said there were multiple instances when manual checks and customer analysis were undertaken too late, meaning customers were able to deposit and lose thousands of euros.
Responsible gambling pushes such as pop-ups were deemed inefficient by the KSA.
One example identified by the regulator, a player was found to be depositing around €5,000 a day. Only after three weeks, and once the player had lost €28,000, a pop-up was sent to the player as an intervention.
The player was able to dismiss the pop-up, while a follow-up call was deemed to have a “marketing-oriented incentive” by the regulator.
In the player’s case, they deposited a net €178,000 between September 2022 and May 2024.
The KSA said the customer also showed signs of “excessive participation such as late-night gaming, consistently hitting limits and a high gaming frequency [of play]”.
In another case, the KSA said the operator’s source of funds check was “inadequate”.
Michel Groothuizen, KSA chair, said: “When there are signs of excessive gambling behaviour and someone wagers a large amount of money in a short period of time, a provider must promptly investigate the source of the money.
“This can be done by requesting income information. It is essential that providers conduct this analysis properly, because not all financial resources can simply be included.
“The KSA takes violations of its duty of care very seriously and will continue to take strong action against them.”
In September, the FDJ United-owned licensee was handed a €450,000 fine by the KSA over micro-betting violations
These included offering markets on corners and yellow cards, while also offering markets on games involving players under the age of 21.
Unibet’s UK licensee Platform Gaming was handed a £10m fine in October over a series of anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures.
A Unibet Netherlands spokesperson said: “Unibet takes this matter and its duty of care to provide a safe gaming environment at all times very seriously.
“We acknowledge that, with the knowledge we have now, we could have acted sooner in the case of some of the players investigated. At the same time, we do not agree with some of the conclusions.
“The decision relates to the period June 2022 to July 2024, when the rules were less specific than they are now. We applied those rules to the best of our knowledge.
“In its decision, the KSA applies a stricter interpretation than what was stated in the rules at the time. The legislation and regulations have since been tightened and, since October 2024, there has been a clearer framework for gambling limits.
“Since September 2024, we have been working with a new risk detection system that identifies risky gambling behaviour more quickly and leads to stricter interventions. We are also taking additional measures to protect players. The issues referred to by the KSA are no longer possible on our platform.”
The post Unibet handed €4m fine in the Netherlands over “multiple” failings first appeared on EGR Intel.
Operator found to have breached duty of care obligations over a two-year period, with fine coming hard on the heels of a six-figure penalty dished out by the KSA in September
The post Unibet handed €4m fine in the Netherlands over “multiple” failings first appeared on EGR Intel.