KSA Fines LCS Limited and Blue High House for Unlicensed Operations
The Dutch gambling authority, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has issued penalties to LCS Limited and Blue High House for continuing to offer unlicensed online gambling services in the Netherlands.
KSA imposes financial penalties on LCS Limited and Blue High House.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:Previously, KSA had contacted both LCS and Blue High House regarding their unauthorized operations. Despite these warnings, both operators persisted in offering unlicensed online gambling. As a result, LCS Limited faces a penalty of €165,000, while Blue High House has been fined €129,000. The regulator also warned of potential further actions.
An order subject to a penalty is more than a warning to an illegal provider. Illegal providers who do not take the right measures to ban Dutch players will be dealt with harshly by the KSA and will feel this where it affects them most – in their wallets.
KSA’s Ongoing Issues with LCS Limited
The issues with LCS date back to August 2022, when KSA initially imposed a €165,000 penalty on the operator for offering unlicensed gambling services. Investigations had begun in March of the same year. In April 2022, Kansspelautoriteit issued a cease-and-desist order, having discovered that LCS was offering online games to Dutch players through its Sonsofslots.com website.
LCS responded by taking legal action to continue its operations. However, the next year, KSA imposed a significantly larger fine of €2.1 million for ongoing breaches of national gambling laws. LCS declared its intention to “aggressively” appeal the fine, labeling it as “unjustified” and stating that the case concerned an isolated incident on Sonsofslots.com at the start of 2022, which was promptly addressed.
LCS also criticized the calculation method used by KSA to arrive at the €2.1 million figure, claiming it was based on incorrect estimates.
In October 2023, KSA conducted a re-inspection and found that LCS was still offering illegal games through Yugibet.com. This led to the forfeiture of the previously imposed penalty payment, even though the violation had ceased. Consequently, KSA has imposed an additional €165,000 fine on LCS.
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Penalties for Blue High House
Similarly, Blue High House was issued a cease-and-desist order in October of the previous year, roughly when LCS was fined. KSA’s investigation into Blue High House began in December 2021, focusing on its unlicensed operations through Websitebetline.ag.
The regulator warned of weekly fines of €43,000, up to a maximum of €129,000, if the operator did not comply within two weeks of the decision dated 29 September. This set a final compliance deadline of 13 October.
Despite these warnings, KSA found that Blue High House continued to allow Dutch players to gamble via its website. As a result, the regulator has now imposed the €129,000 penalty and mentioned that additional fines might follow.
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