Dutch regulator cracks down on affiliates again

The Dutch Gaming Authority — Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has stated it will begin a brand new round of action against affiliates using unlicensed betting in the jurisdiction.

The regulator stated that especially now that the opening of the legal online betting market is imminent, it is on the lookout for illegal operators and marketers who “want to make a quick move.”

In the previous round of action against affiliates, the KSA said it reviewed 44 websites that were reported and subsequently sanctioned.

Of the websites investigated, 26 were discovered to be advertising online gambling and were forced to remove the ads, with 20 removing the ads immediately, 3 after a warning from the KSA that a fee could be used, while 3 underwent additional investigations.

Advertising online betting will remain illegal in the Netherlands until the national online market opens on October 1.

In January, the regulator fined a Curacao-licensed operator EUR600,000 for being found to be offering online gambling to customers in the Netherlands.

The Remote Gambling Act, which allows this activity, came into force on April 1 this year after several delays led to the launch of the market being postponed from the planned date of January 1 to October 1.

In March, the KSA said it expected to receive about 40 license applications and approve about 35 online gambling licenses. As of last month, it has actually received 28.