Entain-owned Betent, operator of the Betcity brand in the Netherlands, has been fined €3 million by the Dutch gambling regulator.

The fine relates to failings in the company’s anti-money laundering and responsible gambling policies and procedures in the period between December 2022 and May 2023.

According to Dutch regulator Kannspelautoriteit (KSA), Betent was not in compliance with relevant legislation during this period because the company failed to continuously monitor its customer relationships and failed to notify suspicious transactions to the authorities.

This meant that potentially at-risk customers were not immediately identified, and source of funds checks were not always carried out.

“The Gaming Authority has noted serious shortcomings,” said the KSA. “In several customer investigations, an investigation was conducted too late into the source of funds, or the source of funds has not been sufficiently investigated, even though there was reason to do so. There have also been cases where transactions have been assessed too late, or where no information has been requested or obtained at all to verify the source of funds, even though it was necessary.”

The regulator noted Betent’s assertion that the company was working through a backlog of customer due-diligence and that certain customers had been set a deposit limit while the process concludes. It found, however, that Betent “has always set a limit at a late stage. In a number of cases there is a fairly high limit. Moreover, in many cases no limit has been imposed at all”. 

“The customer surveys show that Betent customers were able to lose or deposit large amounts without Betent investigating the source of funds or without Betent conducting an investigation until a late stage. In many cases these studies were flawed,” the KSA explained.

In its defence, Betent said that numerous measures had been introduced to strengthen compliance. The company also stated that it has asked the KSA for guidance on its compliance on several occasions, without receiving a response. The company also argued that the regulations were not clear.

The KSA countered that any measures that have been introduced by the company have apparently not been able to ensure compliance with the regulations. On the issue of guidance, the KSA said: “Betent is a professional provider that can be expected to independently succeed in complying with the Wwft [AML regulations]. In the opinion of the Gaming Authority, the rules of conduct are also so clear that Betent should have been able to understand what is expected of it.”

“Moreover, Betent’s shortcomings are so serious and numerous that it must understand that it has not complied with both the Wwft and the rules of conduct. The Gaming Authority finds additional cause for concern in the fact that Betent is trying to shift the blame for its shortcomings onto the Gaming Authority.”

The KSA concluded that the violations represent significant breaches of the rules, particularly in light of previous guidance issued to the company.

Betent has therefore been ordered to pay €2 million for the violations, plus an increase of €500,000 for the seriousness of the issues and €500,000 for Betent’s culpability, for a total fine of €3 million.

This follows the €400,000 fine imposed on Betent in April for breaching advertising regulations.

Entain said: “The investigation relates to BetCity activities in the period December 2022 to February 2023 based on instructions previously issued by the KSA to BetCity in September 2022.  Entain was aware of the September 2022 Instructions prior to completion of the acquisition on 12 January 2023 and the legal documentation relating to the acquisition contains customary contractual protections.

“Following completion, Entain commenced implementing improvements to BetCity’s procedures and control frameworks, has fully co-operated with the KSA investigation and is committed to working with regulators in all its markets to ensure the highest standards of player protection.”

Shares in Entain plc. (LSE:ENT) were trading 0.55 per cent lower at 798.40 pence per share in London Friday morning.