Hosting company DigitalOcean has been instructed by the Netherlands' gambling regulator, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), to discontinue providing services to affiliate sites that are unlawful.
After an investigation that lasted all of 2023, KSA's unlawful affiliate, KSA, issued a legally enforceable order to DigitalOcean. In situations when an infraction has taken place but a penalty is not yet considered suitable, a legally enforceable order is typically issued.
Websites Nieuwe-casinos.net and Casinozonderregistration.net were the primary targets of the initial investigation. The authorities in charge of the websites could not locate or get in touch with their owners. But it does identify DigitalOcean as the web host.
In light of these allegations, the KSA board resolved to compel DigitalOcean to comply with the Netherlands' Gambling Act, specifically Article 1, paragraph 1(b). Unlicensed entities are prohibited from promoting or offering gaming under this section of the Act.
As soon as KSA reached out to them about the two websites, DigitalOcean verified that they were indeed the host. Regardless to KSA's finding that Casinozonderregistration.net and Nieuwe-casinos.net were providing games unlawfully, DigitalOcean stated that it would not stop hosting the websites without a court command.
The Rotterdam District Court gives KSA the go-ahead.
Saudi Arabia officially announced its intention to enforce a binding edict in a letter dated 22 September 2023. Reiterating their previous request for a court injunction prior to taking any action, DigitalOcean responded.
On January 26, 2024, the Rotterdam District Court granted KSA permission to proceed with its lawsuit against DigitalOcean. before sending the legally enforceable order, KSA demanded that DigitalOcean stop breaking the Netherlands' Gambling Act (Article 1, paragraph 1(b)) before March 22, 2024. To do this, "all necessary measures" must be taken. A punishment or penalty may be imposed by KSA on DigitalOcean in the event that company fails to comply.
DigitalOcean has the option to contest this ruling. Just days after KSA and Cloudflare reached a deal, the legally binding order is issued. Those providing illicit gaming services in the Netherlands can be more easily identified with the help of Cloudflare.
The most recent regulatory move by KSA
Following an active period of regulatory action by KSA, the binding order against DigitalOcean is the next logical step.
Gammix Limited was fined €19.6m (£16.8m/$21.2m) last month for providing games in the Netherlands without the necessary licenses. Previously, Gammix faced a threat of weekly fines of €1.4 million and an order to leave the Dutch market. Gammix was fined €4.4 million after failing to fulfil this requirement.
"Outrageous and unsubstantiated" was Gammix's description of the fine, and the company promised to challenge the ruling.
Gammix director Phil Pearson remarked at the time, "The KSA has imposed upon our company a penalty that is both outrageous and unsubstantiated.". "Now that we can discuss the case openly, we can confirm that we are fighting for justice on all fronts. This regulator, who many already saw as unapproachable, has taken an extraordinary and unnecessary hard line."
More than a million Dutch consumers have signed up for an online account in the past week, according to KSA's monitoring report.
