Kansspelautoriteit: Dutch regulatory action against 15 affiliates

Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Dutch gambling authority, has taken measures against 15 affiliate websites it claims are promoting unauthorized online games of chance to Dutch players. The regulator found 15 websites that had infringed the Dutch Gambling Act and were thus declared to have broken national legislation after a total of 22 inspections.

KSA gives cease-and-desist orders to affiliates in the first phase, then conducts re-inspections to monitor activities. KSA has the authority to impose a financial penalty if the website does not stop illegal operations.

KSA did not reveal the identities of the affiliates or the sites they were advertising, but it did say that 13 of the affiliates might face penalties depending on how they responded to the KSA warning. The other two locations are still being investigated. According to the KSA, some affiliates instantly ceased advertising for illegal providers, while others shifted to advertising for licensed providers.

Kansspelautoriteit’s announcement read: “Offering games of chance without a license is prohibited; the same applies to advertising games of chance that are not licensed. With affiliate marketing, sites receive money when they click through to the online game of chance and the KSA periodically conducts research into these advertisers”.