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The gambling authority in the Netherlands, known as Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has fined Optdeck Service Limited (which offers games of chance under the Unibet brand name) a major €4,000,000 ($4.6 million) fine.
This mega fine is due to the company not complying with duty of care in the period of July 14, 2022, to July 1, 2024, according to the KSA. In the Netherlands, gambling companies must protect players from excessive participation and gambling addiction, but the regulator says Optdesk has not complied sufficiently with that duty of care. This comes only months after the KSA hit Optdeck with a €450,000 ($524,160) fine in September.
In an announcement through the authority board, they explain how they requested several player files from the gambling operator and “found that all files referred to non-compliance with the duty of care.”
“For example, in the event of signals of immoderate playing behavior, players who deposited thousands of euros a day were not intervened in a timely manner and income information was only asked after a few weeks, while by that time they had already suffered very large losses,” the KSA said in a translated post.
Chosen interventions were too light, KSA says about Unibet
They continued to suggest that the chosen interventions were ‘far too light,’ with an example being an easy-to-click pop-up. Further checks were included too, like financial data, and the regulator says income that it doesn’t allow to be used, such as a business account, was also included.
Michel Groothuizen, chairman of the Ksa, said in a translated quote: “When there are signs of immoderate gambling behavior and someone bets a huge amount of money in a short time, a provider must investigate the origin of the money in time.
“This can be done by requesting income data. It is essential that providers carry out this analysis adequately, because not all financial resources may simply be included. The Ksa takes violations of the duty of care very seriously and will continue to act hard against them.”
Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram
