The Netherlands Gambling Authority (Ksa) has fined Optdeck Service Limited, the firm behind Unibet, €4m (~£3.51m) due to lapses in player protection duties from July-2022 until July-2024.
During that period, the Dutch gambling operator was required to implement protections for players to avoid excessive gambling and possible addiction. Ksa found failures in the operator’s monitoring system that allowed players to bet significant amounts without adequate interventions.
It was during the investigation that Ksa took a look at player files, which showed breaches of duty-of-care standards that had been put in place.
According to Ksa, despite supposedly having a fail-safe monitoring system, players were allowed to deposit thousands without the operator intervening.
The income verification tool — which assesses whether the funds being deposited are coming from a legitimate source — was noted as delayed. As a result, players had already deposited and wagered before the verification was complete.
Unibet allegedly also allowed players to deposit money into their accounts from sources other than their personal bank account, such as a business account, which is not permitted under Dutch regulations.
Enforcement Actions and Regulatory Requirements
When concerns arose about a player’s gambling habits, Optdeck’s preventative measures were insufficient in the severity of its findings, according to Ksa. This included using measures such as pop-up warnings that could be bypassed, to then continue with deposits and wagers.
The KSA emphasised that Optdeck’s minimal approach failed to meet the active player protection standards that are required under Dutch law.
Michel Groothuizen, Chairman of the Ksa Board, noted: “When there are signs of excessive gambling behaviour, and someone wagers a large amount of money in a short period of time, a provider must promptly investigate the source of the money.
“This can be done by requesting income information. It is essential that providers conduct this analysis properly because not all financial resources can simply be included. The Ksa takes violations of its duty of care very seriously and will continue to take strong action against them.”
Under Dutch gambling regulations, operators must identify risky betting patterns from players quickly and respond with safeguards in place to assess the level of risk.
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