Dutch gambling watchdog fine Unibet

In the Netherlands, the online gambling company Unibet has been issued with a 470,000euro fine for explicitly targeting players inside the country.  

The fine, which was issued by the Dutch gambling authority, is said to have included the fact that a Dutch chat service was offered, and that players were able to pay using the Dutch online payment service Ideal. Furthermore, it has been stated that the Netherlands was not included within the company’s terms and conditions list of countries were playing is banned.  

The decision against the company, who offer roulette, poker and sports betting, follows an earlier decision to hand a 350,000euro fine to Bwin for a similar rule break. It was also using Ideal as a payment option.  

At present, Holland Casino is the only state-regulated gambling institution without the country, but international businesses have been known to break the rules. However, earlier this year following years of fierce debate, the senate voted to open up the online gambling market to other companies. 

Whilst this was seen as a step forward by many, the new measures are still restrictive and contain a number of elements aimed at combatting problem gambling.  

Any players who chose to use these websites must first register themselves and in doing so, set a limit on how much they want to spend. Once this information has been provided, the players are regularly reminded of their limits and the risk of potential addictions.  

In addition, firms also have to appoint an addition expert and pay taxes of 29%, the highest in Europe at the moment.

Those who are caught breaking any of the rules will receive further restrictions in addition to any agreed fine. Those who target Dutch players will then only be able to apply for a license following a cooling off period.

According the website Gambling Compliance, almost all of the major European gambling companies have now been issued some kind of fine by the Dutch regulator.