Costa Rica-based online operator Winning Poker Network (WPN) has been ordered to pay a penalty totalling €75,000 by the Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA).
WPN decision
The operator was found to have accepted Dutch players on its website americascardroom.eu in September 2022 following an investigation by the KSA.
The regulator ordered WPN to stop accepting Dutch players on the website, and subsequently found during a follow-up investigation that indeed players from the Netherlands could no longer access its services.
Following further investigation in January 2023, however, the regulator found that another website operated by WPN, truepoker.eu, continued to accept Dutch customers, and subsequently imposed a periodic fine of €25,000 per week, up to a total of €75,000, on the operator.
The regulator said it will continue its investigation once the penalty payment has been made with the aim of stopping the operator offering its services in the Netherlands altogether.
If WPN is found to be in violation of Dutch regulations again by offering its services without a licence, further enforcement action can be taken.
GoldWin investigation
Meanwhile, Malta-based GoldWin Ltd, was also subject to a KSA investigation beginning in December 2022, which found that there were no technical measures in place to prevent Dutch customers from accessing its website westcasino.com.
The KSA subsequently ordered the operator to cease offering its services to Dutch players, with a penalty fee of €239,000 per week (up to €717,000) set to be enforced if it refused.
A subsequent re-investigation of the operator found the violation of Dutch regulations had ceased, meaning GoldWin did not have to pay the fee.
The KSA noted that the order remains in force, and therefore if the operator allows Dutch customers to use its services in future, the fee will still be imposed.
“It must pay off for providers of games of chance to offer their games legally,” said KSA chairman René Jansen.
“That is only possible if we take the wind out of illegal supply. We are fully committed to stopping these practices,” he concluded.