The Netherlands Gaming Authority, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has announced that it has fined LCS Limited €2.07 million ($2.2 million) for unlicensed gambling activity.
According to the KSA announcement, LCS allowed Dutch gamblers to access its sonsofslots.com website. The company nor its domain are licensed for online gambling in the Netherlands.
Previously in August of 2022, the KSA imposed a fine of €165,000 ($173,950) on LCS for operating the same website illegally within the Dutch market. The fine was accompanied by an order to cease its illegal activity with immediate effect.
However, despite warnings and the initial fine, a follow up investigation found that the online gambling operator had reentered the Dutch market.
Speaking of the fine René Jansen, chairperson of the KSA said:
“An order subject to penalty is an often very effective method to immediately stop illegal supply. However, illegal providers who subsequently go black should not think that they have ‘bought off’ their illegal activities: the previously committed violations can also be punished. In addition, we continue to carry out re-checks to verify whether the supply has actually been and will continue to be discontinued.”
The amount of the fine imposed by the KSA was determined on the basis of the regulator’s current fine policy, which takes into account, among other things, the turnover of the company in the Netherlands.
This brings the total fines for 2023 to more than €388,047,716 ($412,182,649) while the KSA’s fines make up almost €12.7 million ($13.5 million) of that figure. According to research by USA-Casino.com, gambling industry fines in 2022 came to €251,712,034 / $269,532,490 – a significant increase of 443.9% compared to 2021’s total of €44,753,969 / $48,642,992.
Gambling industry journalist with a background in online poker and trading. Covering the regulated U.S Sports industry and the exciting world of online poker.