KSA hits Curaçao-based operator with €440k illegal gambling fine
Dutch regulator issues first fine of 2021 to LuckyDays owner for processing 224,630 transactions from Dutch players over two-month period
The Dutch Gambling Authority (KSA) has fined Curaçao-based company Raging Rhino €440,000 (£378,177) for offering online gambling to Dutch players without a licence.
KSA investigators began scrutinising the LuckyDays operator under the prioritisation criteria after learning that the Raging Rhino site was accessible to Dutch players from a Dutch IP address.
According to the KSA, the site offered players the ability to pay via the iDEAL payment method which is common in the Netherlands and is included among the criteria.
The KSA found that the LuckyDays website had processed 224,630 transactions via the iDEAL payment method from Dutch accounts between 1 May and 31 July 2020 for a total of €18m.
In addition, regulators found that the site signposted players to a Dutch-based problem gambling service and conducted no age verification on its players, something required under the criteria.
The KSA has confirmed that Raging Rhino has already paid the fine following the conclusion of its investigation and that the LuckyDays site is now inaccessible to Dutch players.
The fine is the first issued by the KSA in 2021 and the first since the requirement for active age verification methods was introduced to the Dutch prioritisation criteria last year.
Elsewhere, the KSA has confirmed police raids took place on residences in the Dutch city of Velsen and properties in Spain in connection with alleged illegal online gambling.
Authorities working on behalf of several Dutch policing bodies arrested a 56-year-old resident of Velsen on suspicion of money laundering, seizing two luxury vehicles, money and jewellery belonging to the man.
A house in Spain that also belonged to the man was searched by police where other items were confiscated.
Further investigations were conducted by the authorities in respect of two unnamed Curaçao-licensed gambling firms, with the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration conducting its own separate investigations into these operators.