Dutch regulators hand LeoVegas and Royal Panda fines

Dutch regulators hand LeoVegas and Royal Panda fines - Banner
Sam Gascoyne
by Sam Gascoyne Last updated:

KSA fines both casinos after they were found to illegally target Dutch players

The Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has imposed fines upon LeoVegas and their Royal Panda brand for offering players the Netherlands the opportunity to gamble, despite not having a gaming licence. 

In its rulings, the regulator KSA have asid that LeoVegas and Royal Panda were running websites that were accessible by those with a Dutch IP address, and were clearly targeting players in Netherlands, despite not having the go-ahead to do so. 

Having monitored both sites closely between August 2018 and January 2019 it was found that LeoVegas had offered players various games of chance including online slots, progressive jackpots, sports betting and scratch cards.

Royal Panda had offered online slots, bingo, progressive jackpots, sports betting and scratch cards. 

It was also found that players could deposit using iDEAL, a payment method native to the Netherlands. 

What punishments have been imposed on the casinos?

As a result of this Royal Panda have been fined a mammoth sum of €400,000 whilst their parent company, LeoVegas was ordered to pay €350,000.

This isn't the first time in the last few months that heavy fines have been slapped on operators, in September The Stars Group was fined €400,000 for running PokerStars.eu in the country without the required licence.  

What does the future of online casinos in the Netherlands hold?

As it currently stands online gambling is illegal in the Netherlands, however in January 2021 the European country will launch a regulated market after passing the Netherlands' Remote Gambling Act. 

The KSA are will begin the process of drawing up licence conditions next year, only operators have that have had no activity within the Netherlands in the last two years will be able to apply for a licence.