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The Dutch gaming authority, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has fined Maltese-licensed Shark77 for illegal activities in the Netherlands.
Malta-based Shark77 was fined €900,000 for operating a gambling website in the country. This is prohibited under the Betting and Gambling Act if the operator does not have the required license.
Initially inspected by the KSA in December 2021, Shark77 conducted an investigation in January and February last year and revealed that the operator offers both sports betting and online casino games on its website 18bet.com.
According to the authorities, no technical precautions were taken to prevent Dutch players from accessing these services. The website is accessed from a Netherlands IP address and the Netherlands is specified as the country of residence when registering the account.
Shark77 responded to KSA’s denial that it was actively targeting the Dutch market, saying that it offers games under a license from the Malta Gaming Authority and that KSA should not be fined.
However, the KSA said that Shark77 violated Dutch regulations by selling its games, and while it held a license in Malta, this was not enough to allow Dutch customers to access its games, so it was operating illegally in the Netherlands.
KSA went on to explain that there are no procedures in place to prevent Dutch players from accessing the site, and customers can deposit and withdraw money directly from Dutch bank accounts.
Therefore, KSA stated that Shark77’s defense was invalid and there was no reason to transfer the funds. The operator was ordered to pay the full amount of €900,000 by the KSA.