Dutch authorities have imposed a €3.0 million fine on BetCity, a licensee, for violating the Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Prevention Act (Wwft).
The decision was made by the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Dutch gambling regulator, following a series of breaches identified within BetCity’s operations.
The KSA initially confronted BetCity in September of the previous year after receiving customer reports indicating non-compliance with the Wwft.
Key issues included BetCity’s failure to investigate the source of funds for players experiencing substantial losses.
This oversight resulted in instances where players lost €110,000 in a month, €25,000 in a single month, and €85,000 in six months without any intervention, leading the KSA to conclude that BetCity was incapable of continuously monitoring customer behavior.
PlayNorth Limited also faced reprimands for similar compliance issues. Notably, this case marked the first time that the KSA publicly sanctioned a gambling operator for Wwft violations.
Following a review of the reports, the KSA provided BetCity with instructions on rectifying the identified issues and pledged to monitor the operator’s compliance efforts.
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However, the KSA later determined that BetCity did not meet the compliance requirements for a significant portion of the customer surveys conducted between December 2022 and May 2023.
Investigations often commenced late, after substantial amounts had already been wagered, and BetCity frequently failed to request sources of income from customers.
Moreover, the operator did not consistently report unusual transactions.
As a result, the KSA imposed a €3.0 million fine on BetCity. KSA Chairman René Jansen emphasized that warnings were issued previously to licensed providers regarding Wwft compliance, and sanctions would follow if they were found to be underperforming in this regard.
BetCity and its parent company, BetEnt, were acquired by Entain in January. Entain expressed awareness of the KSA investigation and stated that it had begun implementing improvements to BetCity’s procedures and control frameworks after the acquisition.
The company also pledged full cooperation with regulators to uphold the highest standards of player protection.
This fine adds to a series of regulatory challenges for Entain, including a £585.0 million settlement related to historic activities in Turkey and a £17 million penalty imposed by the GB Gambling Commission for social responsibility failings in August 2022.
Entain faces the possibility of further regulatory action, including license revocation, if additional breaches occur.