Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Dutch gaming regulator, imposed a €450,000 fine on the Gibraltar-based Onisac ltd. The latter is the company behind the Mansion Group with its most popular brand being casino.com. The reason for the financial penalty was the fact that casino.com provided its services to Dutch players without holding the necessary permits and charged them a fee for abandoning their accounts.
The KSA authorities decided that €200k was a fair penalty for the provision of online casino games without a license. The other €200k was added because this is the second time casino.com violates the law. (In 2013, Onisac and Mansion Group got a combined €150k fine for facilitating payments through the popular payment processor iDeal)
The remaining €50k fine was imposed because of the €15-€500 administration fees Dutch customers were supposed to pay if they haven’t logged into their casino.com account for more than six months. According to KSA, the administrative fee for inactive accounts was “an unreasonable disadvantage for consumers.”
Onisac Ltd is expected to appeal the €450k fine, although the chance of success seems quite slim. What is worse, the Netherlands gambling market will be open for international operators from mid-2020 onwards. However, previous offenders such as casino.com and 1xbet will be allowed to apply for a license no earlier than 2022.
In February, KSA announced that it would continue the crackdown on unlicensed operators providing online casino services within the Dutch borders. Earlier this year, KSA imposed hefty financial penalties to Casumo, 1xbet, and Betsson for similar violations.
