Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has fined Blue High House €1.125 million for offering online casino games to players in the Netherlands without a local licence.
An investigation by the KSA into the company’s Betonline.ag website found that Dutch players could gain access to the site and play without any restrictions, meaning that it had failed to take steps to prevent access by Dutch players.
In addition to being available to Dutch players, the site also offered prohibited game features such as autoplay and turbo play.
According to the regulator, Blue High House also failed to verify players date of birth information and used unauthorised payment methods, including cryptocurrency.
The KSA had previously issued a penalty payment order and a cease-and-desist order to the operator which received no response.
“The Netherlands has a legal market to ensure that people who want to gamble can do so safely. With illegal providers, such as in this case Blue High House, we often see that risky gaming behaviour is not taken into account in any way,” said KSA chairman Michel Groothuizen.
“For example, players can create an account on this website without having to verify their age, which means that minors can also play. We also saw things like autoplay and turboplay, which can encourage excessive gaming, and there were no gaming limits. The KSA takes tough action against these types of illegal websites.”