Bingoal fined by Dutch regulator for targeting young gamblers

The Dutch gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit, recently issued a fine of €400,000 ($428k) to online gambling firm Bingoal for sending gambling advertising messages to underaged people in the country.

The fine is the fifth financial penalty issued by the KSA during a recent investigation into violations of laws that prohibit gambling promotions targeted at people between the ages of 18 and 24.

A statement by the KSA revealed that the regulator started the investigation late last year after a broadcast of the popular TV program Kassa. The inquiry discovered that Bingoal sent out the advertisements between October 2021 and March 2022.

“That is not allowed, because young adults are a vulnerable target group. The brains of young people are still developing. As a result, they are extra susceptible to a gambling addiction,” the KSA wrote.

Bingoal was accused of violating Article 2, Paragraph 4 of the Betting and Gaming Act. By sending gambling advertisement messages to young adults, the company was also found to have breached the Decree on Recruitment, Advertising, and Addiction Prevention of Games of Chance.

In response to the accusation, Bingoal claimed that although the advertising messages were sent, they were not specifically aimed at young gamblers. Instead, the company asserted that the promotions were addressed to the public and happened to spread to young adults.

In February, Bingoal was fined €350,000 by the Netherlands gambling regulator for gambling responsibility failures that occurred in June 2022. At the time, it was discovered that Bingoal allowed players to gamble without checking Cruks, the national self-exclusion system.

The Dutch gambling authority has already issued multiple sanctions this year. Shark77 was fined €900,000 last month, while Joi Gaming received €400,000 in fines. Equinox Dynamic and Domiseda and Partners were also given penalties of €900,000 each.

Other gambling firms that have received fines from the regulator include Fairload (€900k), Probe Investments (€1.12m), Betpoint Group (€1.78m), and N1 Interactive, with the highest at €12.64 million.

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