Netherlands Gambling Authority Fines Merkur Casino Almere
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The Netherlands gambling authority, de Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has fined Merkur Casino Almere €45,000 for allowing a self excluding gambler access to the casino.
According to the KSA’s announcement, the person had previously registered on the Central Register of Exclusion of Games of Chance (Cruks) but was allowed to access the casino nine times between February 17th, 2022 and March 2nd, 2022.
The KSA’s investigation revealed that the self-excluding gambler was checked each time they entered the casino, but the employees carrying out the checks received an error message on each occasion. As the person’s status on the Cruks register was unverifiable, they were allowed to enter the casino and place wagers.
According to the Netherlands’ gambling regulations, this was a breach of the casino’s licensing conditions and a failure in the operator’s responsibility towards its customers. The KSA notes that if a customer’s status on the Cruks register cannot be verified, they must not be allowed to enter the casino.
As a result, the KSA has imposed a fine of €45,000 and warned Merkur Casino Almere to ensure that this type of breach does not happen again.
This brings the total fines for 2023 to more than €56.9 million while the KSA’s fines make up almost €9 million of that figure.
According to industry fines tracker website GamblingIndustryFines.com, gambling industry fines in 2022 came to €251,712,034 / $269,532,490 – a significant increase of 443.9% compared to 2021’s total of €44,753,969 / $48,642,992.
Ciaran McEneaneyBased in Galway, Ireland, Ciaran has over a decade of experience writing for some of the biggest names in the sports-betting, gambling, poker & casino industries.
