The Netherlands Gambling Authority (Ksa) has fined Betent for failing to adequately protect young adults from excessive gambling and gambling addiction.

Gambling companies have a duty of care and must protect players as much as possible from excessive gambling and gambling addiction. According to the Ksa, Betent a Betcity brand had not sufficiently fulfilled this duty of care and will therefore be fined €2,650,000.

The Ksa launched an investigation after reports of large losses suffered by young adults. This investigation examined a selection of 10 of the player files with the largest losses, finding violations in all of them. These involved young adult players (aged 18 to 23) who gambled away tens of thousands of euros, often in a relatively short period of time.

Michel Groothuizen, chairman of the Ksa: “We have a licensed gambling market based on the principle that anyone who wants to gamble can do so safely. Therefore, providers have a duty of care to their players and must respond appropriately to excessive gambling.

“Significant losses are a key signal of this. We’ve intensified our oversight of online due diligence, and we’re taking a firm stance against violations like those we’re witnessing here at Betcity. We simply don’t want to see providers continue to fail in this way when it comes to their due diligence, especially for vulnerable young players.