KSA, an acronym for The Kansspelautoriteit, is a Dutch gambling regulator. It conducted an investigation into Play North and BetEnt last year and has now published its findings for the public to know what happened.
The investigations and findings pertain to both platforms violating the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act. This is often represented as Wwft and aims to make sure that malicious actors are not misusing entertainment services in society.
To start with Play North, The Kansspelautoriteit observed that the platform lacked management about having a sufficient player management system. It was unable to track the source of funds and analyze the behavior of different players based on how much they were depositing, winning, or losing.
For instance, per the investigation’s findings, it was observed that while one player was depositing €25,000 after one hour of losing a game, another player was comfortably letting for a sum of €135,000 in a month. Funds deposited on the platform were later lost after 2–3 months.
According to the casino news, Play North has now appointed Jira Player Management System. It will help the company to track the origin of a transaction and player.
BetEnt has a similar story, except for the fact that it had to go through a couple of rounds of exchanging player surveys. The first exchange happened in 2022 in response to a letter sent by KSA. The survey was of about 15 players; however, the information supplied was inadequate to draw any conclusions. The paper did not have certain dates, which made it troublesome to conduct further investigation.
Moreover, KSA requested that BetEnt submit original documents. They were again found inadequate. Finally, when KSA was able to follow through, it found that 12 out of 17 players had not been through AML standards. Meaning, they failed to meet the criteria for qualifying as legitimate players. Most of them reportedly lost €12,000 to €110,000 in a month.
KSA has now issued a statement to the employees of all the providers, asking them to understand the pattern in which funds are deposited. KSA has said that while it is normal to deposit such a large amount for a play, it is only possible for a small group of people to manage that much money for a game that has an uncertain outcome.
KSA has also emphasized that operators must conduct their own investigation even if the source of funds seems legitimate.
BetEnt has argued that the regulations were introduced only later, not giving them sufficient time for their implementation. KSA has clarified in response to the statement that they were published on February 8, 2021.
Play North and BetEnt have objected to the outcome drawn by KSA. The appeal has been denied at the time of articulating this piece. They have now been asked to make amendments to violations.
