iDEAL Payments Again at the Center of Dutch Regulator's Unibet Fine iDEAL Payments Again at the Center of Dutch Regulator's Unibet Fine
Key Takeaways
  • According to the KSA, Unibet allowed Dutch customers to gamble through the unbet.eu website between August and December 2018.
  • Unibet offered Dutch customers the iDEAL payments system and Dutch-language live chat.
  • Kindred is appealing the fine.
  • Kindred urged the KSA to publish “policy rules on license application and requirements to establish increased clarity on the license application process.”

Global European online gaming giant Unibet has been hit with a record €470,000 fine from the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) for operating in the Dutch market without a local license.

It is thought to be the largest fine levied by the regulator to date and is the sixth so far this year in what appears to be an increase in fines on high-profile European igaming operators ahead of market regulation starting next year.

According to the KSA, Unibet allowed Dutch customers to gamble through the unibet.eu website between August and December 2018.

In conclusions that echo those drawn in the case against GVC earlier this month, the KSA claimed that Unibet did not list the Netherlands as an excluded country in its terms and conditions and, critically, allowed Dutch customers to use the iDEAL payments system.

iDEAL is a very popular Dutch system for money transfers. Its use in online gaming is considered a clear signal that an operator targets the Dutch market.