The Netherlands’ Gambling Authority, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has hit Starscream Limited with a staggering €4.2m ($4.9m) fine for offering illegal online casinos to Dutch residents.
The eye-watering penalty comes after the KSA warned the Caribbean-based firm in April that it faced fines of €280,000 ($326,000) per week up to a maximum of €840,000 ($980,175).
Dutch players could deposit money “via iDeal or a credit card linked to a Dutch bank account”
The Dutch regulator had even identified the offending sites as rantcasino.com, allstarzcasino.com, and sugarcasino.com. In handing out the massive fine, the regulator said that Starcream’s three sites were configured so that Dutch players could deposit money “via iDeal or a credit card linked to a Dutch bank account” to play the games.
According to a Monday KSA news release, the three iCasino sites brought Starscream an estimated illegal turnover of €70.4m ($82.1m) for 2024.
In working out the penalty, the KSA stated that – while the amount of the basic fine for an estimated turnover equal to or over €15m ($17.4m) was 4% of the turnover achieved in the Dutch market – “aggravating factors” pushed the fine up 0.5% to €4,228,000.
KSA Executive Chairman Michel Groothuizen warned that while it was a challenge to collect fines the size of Starcream’s from firms operating outside the European market, “these penalties continue to send a clear signal that illegal gambling in the Netherlands will be dealt with firmly.”
