The Netherlands’ gambling authority, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), revealed that it will continue its battle against offshore gambling companies. The regulator said that despite regulation being a difficult process, it is determined to win the battle and make sure the country’s gambling sector is safe for local customers.
The chairman of the KSA, René Jansen, addressed the issue. He acknowledged that the country’s gambling authority is unable to cease illegal gambling immediately. However, Mr. Jansen confirmed that the regulatory action continues and the legal gambling sector will eventually prevail over the grey and black market.
Previously, the Kansspelautoriteit has promised to make sure that illegal gambling is once and for all out of the Netherlands. However, the gambling regulator has finally understood this could be a tough battle. So far, the KSA has really been remarkably successful in cracking down on offshore operators, imposing some crackdown measures on foreign gambling companies was not easy and there is still a long way for the gambling authority to go.
Mr. Jansen shared that the KSA has recently been quiet about its ongoing battle against illegal gambling but that did not mean that the regulatory body had any intention of letting up on the pressure. The chairman of the Kansspelautoriteit further said that the authority’s inspectors are constantly being active and are investing a lot of effort in tackling offshore gambling companies in the country.
Tackling Unlicensed Gambling Services among KSA’s Top Priorities
The gambling authority’s chairman also provided more detailed information on the current actions of the KSA aimed at tackling unlicensed gambling across the Netherlands. Mr. Jansen explained that the high fines that the country’s Government imposed on the sector have certainly helped local authorities reduce unlawful gambling but added there was still much work to do.
According to the gambling regulator’s chairman, web traffic is constantly being monitored by officers of the Kansspelautoriteit. Furthermore, the country’s gambling authority is always checking social media for the presence of foreign gambling companies, with approximately 200 websites having been investigated since the re-regulation of the Dutch market.
Mr. Jansen confirmed that the KSA will remain focused on regulating the sector and minimizing the number of offshore operators, as it has two major priorities – to teach local gambling license holders to be responsible and to purge the Netherlands from unlicensed gambling services.
Over the past few months, the authority took into consideration teaching local gambling license holders to self-regulate, and this was one of its main tasks so far. The regulator addressed all gambling license holders in the country to remind them that they are supposed to follow the rules on various occasions and warned them that they may face even more regulatory restrictions in case they are not in line with the rules. Affiliate websites have also been targeted by the regulator, which officially warned them about their activities in May. At the time, the Kansspelautoriteit emphasized that affiliates are only allowed to promote operators that hold an operating permit in the country.
According to the chairman of the KSA, the regulator will continue to do its best to prevent affiliate companies from promoting offshore gambling operators to local users. He explained that responsible license holders and a stricter regulatory approach to offshore gambling are both important for the country to have a “healthy” gambling sector.
