The Dutch gaming regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has fined Entain-owned BetCity (Betent) €2.7m ($3.1m) for insufficiently protecting young people from gambling harms.
The regulator began its investigation into BetCity after it found that young people were losing sufficient funds on the platform. In total, 10 players with significant losses were investigated, where it was found that all were in the 18-23-year-old age bracket. All 10 had recorded losses of tens of thousands of Euros.
In the Netherlands, operators have a duty of care specific to young people. Many regulators in Europe have this in fact, with different rules on things such as loss limits and minimum spends applying to those only just able to gamble legally.
For example, in the UK, players are now subject to a £5 ($6.64) maximum slot spend on online casino games, after a regulatory update in February 2024. However, under 25s can only bet a maximum stake of £2.
Meanwhile, in Norway, Norsk Tipping introduced a NOK 3,000 ($265) monthly loss limit for 20-21-year-olds in January, while 22-24-year-olds have a loss limit of NOK 5,000. This followed the introduction of a NOK 2,000 loss limit for 18-to-20-year-olds introduced in 2023.
All this is to say, young people are often seen as a more vulnerable demographic, with regulators often adding additional rules and regulations to protect this group. This group is also more likely to be vulnerable to new and unregulated forms of gambling, with Svenska Spel pointing to lootboxes and skins gambling as examples in an October report.
On the fine against Betent, KSA Chairman of the Board Michel Groothuizen said: "We have a licensed gambling market based on the idea that anyone who wants to gamble can do so safely. Therefore, providers have a duty of care towards their players and must respond adequately to immoderate play. Large losses are an important signal of this.
"We have intensified our supervision of the online duty of care and we are tackling violations such as the ones we observe here at BetCity harshly, because we really don't want to see providers fail so much when it comes to their duty of care, especially for vulnerable young players."
Entain acquired BetCity in Jun 2022, with the deal completing in January 2023
