Betsson subsidiary fined €300,000 by Dutch regulators
Corona punished for offering gaming without local licence
Betsson Group subsidiary Corona has received a €300,000 fine from the Dutch Gaming Authority (KSA) following an investigation which revealed it was offering gaming to customers in the Netherlands without a local licence.
The KSA confirmed that other Betsson entities operating in the Dutch market were also under investigation, but no violations were discovered, and no fines levied against these businesses.
Corona was likely targeted because it operates the Oranje and Kroon brands and the regulator expressly forbids the use of Dutch-sounding brand names.
The fine could also have a wider-ranging impact after Dutch politicians suggested earlier this year that any company fined for this type of activity would not receive a full license when the market goes live.
Addressing this speculation, a spokesperson for Betsson said: “It is too early to say what effect this will have on operations, the situation is being assessed carefully and Corona has not yet decided if they will appeal the fines.
“Also, we need to know more about the future licence requirements before we can speculate. We share the Dutch authority’s ambition to achieve a high channelisation of Dutch customer into a future regulated environment.”
Corona was acquired by Betsson in 2014 ahead of the proposed introduction of the Remote Gaming Bill. However as of this year the bill has still not been introduced, despite a recent breakthrough.
This is not the first time that Betsson has had a run in with Dutch regulators, having previously challenged regulations concerning international gambling operators targeting Dutch citizens with Dutch symbols.
In July 2017, Betsson AB filed a lawsuit against these regulations stating they were in breach of EU law, however that lawsuit was dismissed by a judge in The Hague in September 2017.