The Netherlands Gambling Authority (Ksa) has fined Optdeck Service Limited for breaching its duty of care between July 14, 2022, and July 1, 2024.

Optdeck offers games of chance in the Netherlands under the Unibet brand name. Gambling companies are required to protect players as much as possible against excessive participation and gambling addiction. According to the Ksa, Optdeck failed to adequately fulfill this duty of care and has been fined €4,000,000.

The Ksa requested various player files from Optdeck and found that all files showed breaches of duty of care. For example, when players deposited thousands of euros per day, they failed to intervene promptly when they detected signs of excessive gambling behavior, and only requested income information after several weeks, even though they had already suffered substantial losses by then. Furthermore, the interventions chosen were far too light, such as an easily dismissible pop-up window. Checks of financial data also included income that the Ksa doesn’t allow, such as a company account.

Michel Groothuizen, chairman of the Ksa board: “When there are signs of excessive gambling behavior and someone wagers a large amount of money in a short period of time, a provider must promptly investigate the source of the money.

This can be done by requesting income information. It is essential that providers conduct this analysis properly, because not all financial resources can simply be included. The Ksa takes violations of its duty of care very seriously and will continue to take strong action against them.”