Unibet’s parent company will have to pay a €4m ($4.6m) fine in the Netherlands for its inadequate efforts to protect gamblers who were exhibiting problem gambling behavior. Optdeck Service Limited will pay the national record penalty to the Dutch regulator for failures that occurred during a two-year period starting July 1, 2022.
able to continue spending tens of thousands of euros despite triggering warnings
The regulator’s investigation focused on ten individual gamblers, in particular. These people were often able to continue spending tens of thousands of euros despite triggering warnings that require manual account reviews. Some of the red flags included very long playing sessions that lasted deep into the night, depositing several times in the same day, and increasing their bets as their losses grew.
The interactions Unibet had with these players were deemed to be only surface-level. Optdeck tried to counter some of the KSA’s points, arguing that it has the final say over its specific addiction-prevention systems. It also stated that the investigation’s focus was on the period immediately preceding the country’s licensed framework coming into place, and that improvements to its systems were made shortly thereafter. The regulator acknowledged these upgrades in its penalty notice.
This is not the only recent fine Unibet has faced in the Netherlands. The KSA warned the operator in June about advertising violations and offering banned features, resulting in a €450,000 ($522,666) fine.
