Kindred Group fined by Netherlands' authority for accepting bets from Dutch customers

Kindred Group received Monday a penalty of EUR 470,000 (USD 521,322) from the Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) after an investigation by the regulator showed its Unibet.eu site had been targeting Dutch players between August 11 and December 27, 2018.

KSA's ruling, which relates to investigations prior to the recently approved Remote Gambling Bill, is in line with similar decisions issued by the KSA in the last 18 months.

The group issued a statement explaining that it "respects any requests from the Dutch regulator and is fully compliant with the rules set out by the Ministry of Justice and Security earlier this year." It also said it remains committed to having a "constructive dialog with the regulator and other stakeholders."

The Dutch Senate approved the Remote Gambling Bill on 19 February 2019, which will replace the current Gambling Act from 1964. The KSA has stated that it is expecting to issue Dutch remote licenses in the first quarter 2021, and Kindred said it "remains committed to obtaining a license on online sports betting and gaming as soon as the Dutch market opens."

Kindred has decided to appeal the KSA ruling while awaiting the secondary legislation from the Ministry of Justice and Security as well as the KSA’s publication of the policy rules on license application and requirements to establish increased clarity on the license application process.