Kansspelautoriteit, the Netherlands gambling regulator, has warned Smart Gaming after its Betnation brand failed to run required Cruks self exclusion checks for some players between January and March 2026.
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Cruks sits at the center of safer gambling rules in the Netherlands. Anyone listed in the register cannot play with licensed online casinos, sports betting sites, arcades or casinos.
Around 118,000 people currently use Cruks. For those players, the system only works when every licensed operator checks the register before play starts.
KSA said Betnation failed to do that for a number of players because of a technical fault. The issue ran from January to March 2026 and created a gap in one of the core protection tools in the Dutch gambling market.
The regulator said the failure crossed a serious line.
“The KSA finds it deeply unacceptable that the Cruks checks were not carried out. Players who register themselves in Cruks do so to protect themselves, and must be able to rely on the fact that this also prevents them from gambling with licensed operators.”
KSA did not impose a financial penalty on Smart Gaming. The Netherlands gambling regulator pointed to the steps Betnation took after finding the issue.
Betnation reported the fault itself, fixed the problem and checked affected accounts manually. It also compensated players who had been affected.
For a small group of accounts, Betnation could no longer say with certainty whether those players had been registered with Cruks at the time. Some of them gambled during the period. In one confirmed case, a person listed in Cruks still played through Betnation.
The company also said it would work with responsible gambling partners to offer added support to affected players. That could include help, care or a course.
KSA said those actions made a warning more suitable than a fine, although it still called the missed checks unacceptable.
The Betnation warning comes during a busy period for gambling enforcement in the Netherlands. Days earlier, on 11 June 2026, KSA fined 711 B.V. €886,000 for duty of care failures across 10 player files.
Both cases point to the same rule for Dutch online gambling operators. Compliance systems remain the responsibility of the licence holder, even when a technical problem causes the failure.
The difference sits in the response. Betnation self reported, repaired the fault, reviewed player accounts and offered compensation. That helped keep the case at warning level.
Still, KSA said it expects every licensed operator to run Cruks checks correctly, spot technical issues quickly and fix them at once. The regulator also said it will keep monitoring operators closely.
For Betnation and other licensed brands in the Netherlands, the lesson is direct. Self reporting can reduce enforcement risk, but Cruks checks cannot be treated as optional or delayed.