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.
Netherlands Gambling Authority Fines Merkur Casino AlmereThis 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 has been working within the Gambling Industry as a deep analyst since 2019. His deep knowledge and understanding of all the gambling regulations, and processes makes him a true asset, and an always valuable point of view for Gambling Industry News, allowing us to cover every topics from a brand new perspective.