iGamingExpert

The Dutch Gaming Authority (KSA) has continued its strong compliance focus, this time taking aim at Betnation for failures related to the Cruks self-exclusion system.

The KSA issued Smart Gaming, the operator of Betnation, an official warning after it failed to verify whether a group of players were on the Cruks exclusion register between January and March 2026.

As a result, these players were able to gamble without being checked, including one who had previously self-excluded.

The regulator said in a statement: “The KSA considers it highly reprehensible that the Cruks checks were not carried out. Players who register themselves in Cruks do so to protect themselves and must be able to assume that, as a result, they cannot gamble at licensed providers.”

Betnation attributed the failure to a ‘technical error’ which meant the checks were not performed.

The operator said that it manually checked the players affected. However, it was unable to determine whether a small group of playe..

Sweden’s Administrative Court has made decisions regarding fines that two different operators – Videoslots and LeoVegas – received from Spelinspektionen last year in relation to the duty of care.

Roar Vegas, trading as LeoVegas, saw its March 2025 warning and SEK 8m penalty fee (approximately €734,000) for ‘deficiencies in the duty of care’ from the Swedish gambling regulator overruled by the court.

The court stated that LeoVegas ‘has not clearly and distinctly breached the duty of care’ and so the decision from Spelinspektionen was annulled.

However, the Administrative Court took the opposite stance with the decision regarding Videoslots, which received a warning and a SEK 12m sanction fee (approximately €1.1m) for ‘deficiencies in the duty of care’ in April last year.

The court noted that it shared the regulator’s assessment of Videoslots that, for the majority of players examined, the company ‘clearly and distinctly breached its duty of care’ and so rejected its appeal, finding ..

711 Group has reiterated that it has ‘always acted in good faith and within the legal framework in place at the time’ in the Dutch iGaming market after receiving a fine of almost €900,000 from Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) for duty of care violations.

In a statement to iGaming Expert, Tom De Backer, Group CEO and Co-Founder, said that the operator is investigating its potential next steps and remains committed to ‘strengthening and optimising’ its duty of care and responsible gambling measures.

711 BV was fined a total of €886,000 by the KSA for failing to comply with the duty of care after an investigation by the Dutch gambling regulator discovered failures from February 2022 to June 2024.

Ten player files were requested by the regulator as part of its investigation, from individuals who suffered high losses, gambled for a high number of days and placed bets at night, with violations found in all files.

Michel Groothuizen, Chair of the KSA, said: “We have observed that not all provider..

Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has called out TOTO Online for its use of role models in advertising as part of a World Cup marketing campaign on social media, but the operator initially thought the ads were compliant until the regulator’s intervention.

The KSA’s criticism comes as the Dutch government considers an outright ban on gambling advertising and bonuses in the Netherlands iGaming market, as well as strong rumours surrounding plans to increase the minimum gambling age.

A release from the KSA noted that TOTO Online ‘promoted via the social media channels of eight professional football clubs that people could win a club shirt signed by players if they placed a bet of five euros at TOTO Online’.

The regulator viewed this as using role models for promotional purposes, which is not permitted, since former professional footballers were being used in advertising.

The KSA said in a statement: “It was precisely the involvement of these players that made the campaign attractive to support..

France’s sports betting licence holders have been warned over their advertising and marketing conduct ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The alert comes from the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), as French authorities prepare for a World Cup that is set to be the most heavily engaged with amongst domestic audiences across television, digital media and betting platforms.

With France entering the tournament as one of the favourites, the regulator believes betting activity could surpass the record €900m wagered during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The ANJ estimates that total betting stakes could reach as much as €1.2bn, depending on the progress of Didier Deschamps’ side.

As France’s gambling regulator, the ANJ has reviewed the World Cup advertising plans of 18 licensed online sportsbooks to ensure that promotional messaging remains compliant and does not encourage excessive gambling behaviour.

In its latest consumer study, the regulator identified signs of growing betting appetite am..