KSA imposes €900,000 fine on Betworld operator

Lea Hogg October 30, 2023

The Dutch Gambling Authority (KSA) has levied a substantial €900,000 fine on MKC Limited, the operator of betworld247.com, which was previously licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA). This fine stems from the operator’s actions of offering its services to Dutch customers without holding the required local license. In June 2023, the MGA cancelled MKC’s licence, rendering the BetWorld247 brand inactive.

Repeat offenses and regulatory action

Before the €900,000 fine, MKC Limited had already received penalties and warnings from the KSA in the past year. In September 2022, the KSA issued a cease-and-desist order to MKC along with a weekly fine of €28,000. Although the website was made inaccessible from the Netherlands in October, the KSA’s final report in June 2023 resulted in the substantial fine, as MKC did not respond to the KSA’s findings.

Fine calculation and regulatory violations

The KSA calculated the fine based on MKC’s revenue, with a specific focus on offering prohibited games, inactivity fees, prize payment conditions, deposit methods, playing limits, and age verification. These infractions led to a total fine amount of €1.1 million, although Dutch regulations limit fines to a maximum of 10 percent of a company’s annual turnover. Due to the lack of further investigation into MKC’s turnover, the KSA set the fine at the maximum allowable amount of €900,000.

Another substantial fines this month

Earlier this month, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Dutch Gambling Authority, imposed a substantial €2 million fine on LCS Limited for unlicensed gaming activities. LCS Limited operated the www.sonsofslots.com website, an online slots platform, without the required license. Despite the presence of 27 fully licensed operators in the Dutch market, illegal operators like LCS continue to persist. The KSA is actively combating these unlicensed entities, primarily utilizing fines and penalties to enforce compliance.

This fine is not an isolated incident; the KSA had previously fined LCS €165,000 in August 2022, reinforcing its commitment to stamping out unlicensed gaming in the Netherlands.

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