Tiplix to Pay €170,000 Fine for Facilitating Gambling to Dutch Players
Published February 16, 2017 by Ivan P
Tiplix, an online gambling site owned by Trustfulgames, has become the first operator to face the wrath of the Dutch gambling authority.
Dutch gambling authorities weren't kidding last year when they announced a much firmer approach to policing unlicensed online operators offering their services to players from the Netherlands. Tiplix, a site owned and operated by Trustfulgames, has become the first to experience this new policy on their own skin, as they'll have to pay a €170,000 fine.
The First of Many?
Tiplix may be the first to face the consequences in 2017, but it seems that Dutch regulator Kansspelautoriteit is determined to go after any and all sites operating in the local market without proper authorization.
The site in question had offered various casino games in the Dutch language, clearly targeting players from the Netherlands. After the intervention by Kansspelautoriteit, the site has removed the Dutch version, and players located in Netherlands are now greeted by a message in German, explaining that Tiplix cannot accept Dutch players because of legal reasons.
Stark Shift in Policy
The big fine of €170,000 that Trustfulgames will have to pay shows a serious shift in the approach to unregulated online gambling. In the past, the Dutch regulator was much milder, only issuing fines against repeat offenders. There used to be multiple warnings issued to operators prior to taking any actions.
It is now clear that policy will no longer be in place, as announced last year, predicting fines up to €820,000, depending on the scope and seriousness of the violations.
Unclear Online Gambling Situation
Right now, the legal framework for legal online gambling in the country is rather vague. An iGaming bill was finally passed by the Dutch Lower House last year, but the Senate hasn't had the chance to vote on the bill just yet.
When (and if) the bill is passed, after the vote which should take place in the next couple of months, Kansspelautoriteit will immediately start accepting applications and issuing licenses to online gambling operators meeting requirements prescribed by the law.
