The Netherlands Gambling Authority (Ksa) has fined both illegal gambling operators Fortaprime SRL and Novatech for offering illegal gambling services.

Dutch citizens were able to participate in gambling via the websites amonbet101.com, supraplay.com, amonbet.com, bilucky.com, gxspins.com, kaasino.com, hiddenjack.com, and luckymax7.com (Fortaprime), as well as Qbet.com and 55Bet.com (Novatech).

Fortaprime will receive a fine of €1,795,000, and Novatech a fine of €24,846,000. Both parties had previously been issued with a penalty.

On the investigated sites, Ksa employees could create player accounts, make deposits, and thus participate in illegal gambling. At the time, no technical measures were in place to prevent participation from the Netherlands. Furthermore, the websites exhibited several aggravating violations, such as the lack of visible age verification. Players also had the option to pay with cryptocurrency and anonymous payment methods, facilitating money laundering.

When imposing fines, the Netherlands Gambling Authority (Ksa) can choose a turnover-related amount if the standard fines are disproportionate to the revenue generated from the illegal offering. Because the Ksa estimates that both Fortaprime and Novatech earned more from the bets of Dutch players, a higher fine based on estimated revenue was chosen.

The fine for Novatech is the highest the Ksa has imposed on an illegal party to date. However, the Ksa is hampered by Dutch law in determining the amount of the fines, as they are disproportionate to the illegal profits these companies made.

Michel Groothuizen, chairman of the Ksa: “We determine the fine amount based on the (estimated) revenue the illegal provider generated from players in the Netherlands. We are limited in this respect by the law, which stipulates that the fine may not exceed 10% of global revenue.” Novatech earned hundreds of millions from its illegal offerings, primarily through Dutch players. A fine of €24 million sounds impressive, but without the 10% maximum, the fine would have exceeded €100 million; an amount more appropriate for this offense.

Action against illegal offerings is not only implemented through administrative fines, as mentioned here, but also through intensive collaboration with third parties, such as payment service providers, hosting providers, banks, and large tech companies.

Moreover, Fortaprime’s offerings were advertised by Dutch influencers. Influencers who advertise illegal companies can also be sanctioned by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (Ksa).