Two prominent Dutch lotteries, the National Postcode Lottery and Friends Lottery, have been penalised by the country’s gambling authority, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA).
Both operators have been ordered by the regulator to stop providing games not permitted under their licences. If they do not do so straight away, both will face a weekly penalty of €250,000, up to a maximum of €1m.
A KSA investigation into the two lotteries found that the firms were offering titles categorised as online casino games. In the case of the postcode lottery, the company was offering the Deal or no Deal, Suitcase Hhunt, ONE against 50 and Move That Truck titles.
Meanwhile, the Friends Lottery has been operating a Games Lottery, where the FriendsLottery Millionaires, Club-man and Bingo Crush games can be played.
“Legislation and regulations make a clear distinction between lotteries and more risky games of chance, including online games of chance,” a KSA statement read..
“A different licence is required for both games of chance. Lotteries may not be offered online; it is only permitted to sell participation tickets (‘lots’) via the internet.
“The – for example – online offering of games that are linked to a lottery is prohibited. The law does not allow this. The Ksa remains keen to ensure that lottery and online games of chance remain separate.”
The KSA has previously outlined that it would rigidly enforce licencing provisions under the KOA Act – introduced in October 2021 to re-regulate Dutch gambling – against operators of all stripes, including lottery providers.
Recent penalties issued by the regulator include €900,000 to Shark77, €400,000 to Joi Gaming, €350,000 to Bingoal and €900,000 each to Equinox Dynamic from Curaçao and Slovakia’s Domiseda and Partners.
Furthermore, a total of €26m in penalties was handed down to N1 Interactive (€12.64m), Videoslots (€9.87m), Betpoint Group (€1.78m), Probe Investments (€1.12m) and Fairload (€900,000), as part of a total package of €26m.