Entain-owned Betent, operator of the Betcity brand in the Netherlands, has been fined €2.65 million by Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA).

The fine relates to failings in the company’s duty of care obligations from July 2022 to February 2023, which allowed young adults to gamble excessively.

The KSA launched its investigation after receiving complaints from young adults who had suffered large losses at Betcity, with the regulator examining 10 player files with the largest losses.

The KSA found duty of care violations in all of the files examined and determined that the gambling behaviour of the young adults, who were aged 18 to 23, was “excessive and undeniably intemperate”.

The investigation found that during the time period under review, Betent allowed 10 individuals to deposit more than €500,000 net without taking appropriate intervention measures.

The Dutch regulator accepted Betent’s argument that high stakes and high losses do not necessarily mean that a player cannot afford their gambling, but noted that none of the files indicated that the players could afford it.

Overall, the regulator found that the operator did not conduct sufficient checks in each of the files examined to ensure that these players were playing responsibly.

As a result, Betent has been handed a fine of €2.65 million.

“We have a licensed gambling market based on the principle that anyone who wants to gamble can do so safely,” said KSA chairman Michel Groothuizen. “Therefore, providers have a duty of care to their players and must respond appropriately to excessive gambling. Large losses are an important signal of this.

“We have intensified our oversight of the online duty of care, and we are taking strong action against violations like those we observe here at Betcity. We truly do not want to see providers fail so badly in their duty of care, especially for vulnerable young players.”

This is the third time that the KSA has fined the Entain-owned operator. In April 2023, Betent was fined €400,000 for advertising breaches.

In December 2023, the operator was fined €3 million for anti-money laundering and responsible gambling policy and procedure failings.

Shares in Betent parent Entain plc. (LSE:ENT) were trading 0.27 per cent lower at 805.40 pence per share in London Wednesday morning.