Due to Supporting Terrorism, Dutch Online Gambling Company BetEnt Fined €3 Million
Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the main regulator of the Netherlands’ games of chance market, has fined BetEnt, the Entain-owned Dutch online sports betting and gaming company operating as BetCity, €3 million for anti-money laundering and terrorism financing violations.
License holders in the Netherlands are required to abide by the Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Prevention Act (Wwft). According to KSA, there were several instances in which BetCity violated the act’s legal provisions.
In September of last year, KSA initially contacted BetCity about the issue after consumer reports revealed certain breaches. Among the issues raised was the fact that BetCity didn’t look into the origin of the money used by players who had suffered large losses.
Players lost €110,000 in a month, €25,000, and €85,000 in six months without help, according to some of these accounts. KSA came to the conclusion that BetCity couldn’t continue to continuously monitor client behavior as a result and definitely no longer has a reputation of being one of the best mobile bookmakers. PlayNorth Limited received a reprimand for such problems as well. This case marked the first instance in which KSA published sanctions pertaining to the Wwft.
KSA: BetCity’s Problems Persisted
Following a review of the reports, KSA gave BetCity instructions on how to resolve the problems. Additionally, the regulator promised to keep an eye on the operator to ensure compliance.
However, the KSA decided that BetCity didn’t comply with the standards for a significant portion of the customer surveys that were evaluated between December 2022 and May 2023. According to KSA, inquiries were frequently launched after significant sums had already been bet.
Additionally, the regulator claimed that BetCity wasn’t rigorous in asking for clients’ sources of income. Furthermore, it claimed that insufficient measures were frequently taken and that BetCity frequently failed to disclose anomalous transactions. Therefore, KSA decided to fine them with €3 million.
The KSA sent out a broad warning to licensed providers in May of last year, demanding that they promptly organize their Wwft issues. They went on to say that fines will be applied if analysis reveal that providers are not performing up to par in the Wwft. According to KSA Chairman René Jansen, they are currently investigating this. They are genuinely no longer in the market’s startup period, which also implies that some justifications are gone.
Entain Pledged to Collaborate with Authorities
In January of this year, Entain purchased both BetCity and its parent company, BetEnt. In addition to Entain’s initial €300 million payment, a delayed contingent consideration of up to €550 million was also included in the contract.
In response to the report, Entain stated that per directives KSA sent to BetCity in September 2022, the investigation pertains to actions from December 2022 to February 2023. Entain claimed to have known about the latter even before the acquisition was finalized.
After it was finished, according to an Entain representative, they started enhancing BetCity’s protocols and control systems. They are dedicated to collaborating with authorities in all markets to guarantee the best standards of player protection, and they have fully cooperated with the KSA inquiry.
