LeoVegas receives €750,000 Dutch fine for unlicensed gambling
Flagship brand and Royal Panda subsidiary penalised over prioritisation criteria failings
LeoVegas and its Royal Panda subsidiary have received fines from the Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) totaling €750,000 for offering unlicensed gambling to Dutch players.
LeoVegas received a €350,000 fine, while Royal Panda received a €400,000 fine from the KSA for offering services between August 2018 and January 2019.
Dutch investigators found the websites of both firms were accessible from a Dutch IP address and that it was possible to pay with Dutch-favoured payment method iDEAL.
A KSA investigator contacted LeoVegas’ customer service and asked if a Dutch-speaking employee was available. One was later found to deal with the customer’s query, while a similar incident occurred in the case of Royal Panda.
Under the Dutch prioritisation criteria, the KSA can sanction online gambling sites targeting to Dutch.
The regulator’s criteria include operating a site with a Dutch IP address, featuring Dutch related symbols such as tulips and windmills and allowing players to access the site in the Dutch language.
A fourth criterion, that of usage of the payment method iDEAL was added to the list earlier this year.
Under the Dutch remote gaming act, which passed into law earlier this year, operators who have received a sanction decision from the KSA under the prioritization criteria can be barred from applying for a new Dutch egaming licence for two years from the time they last targeted the Dutch market .
The Stars Group, Kindred, Betsson, Bwin and GiG have all been hit with financial penalties in the period following passage of the law in February.
Betsson appealed its sanction, but later lost that appeal, claiming it would escalate the matter to the Dutch lower courts system.
In a statement, LeoVegas said it was considering submitting an appeal, pending confirmation from the KSA of the licence application process to obtain a Dutch licence.