Dutch Court Upholds Casino Zoetermeer Cruks Fine
A Dutch court has upheld enforcement action against Casino Zoetermeer after the venue admitted two gamblers who had already registered to exclude themselves through the country’s national self-exclusion system.
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Although the court lowered the financial penalty from €25,000 to €21,500, the reduction had nothing to do with the casino’s conduct. The amount was adjusted because the enforcement process took longer than what the court considered a reasonable timeframe. The findings against the operator remained intact.
Self-Excluded Players Were Allowed to Gamble
The investigation began in 2022 after concerns were raised about identity checks at Casino Zoetermeer. Regulators from the Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) found that two visitors had active registrations in Cruks, the country’s Central Register for Exclusion from Gambling, but were still allowed to enter the gaming hall and gamble.
Casino Zoetermeer challenged the regulator’s decision and also sought emergency judicial protection to delay publication of the sanction. Those efforts ultimately failed. The court rejected the casino’s substantive arguments, leaving the KSA’s conclusions unchanged.
The case reinforces the regulator’s position that failures involving Cruks are treated as compliance breaches, even when procedural issues later affect the size of a financial penalty.
Cruks Continues to Expand
Cruks sits at the heart of the Dutch responsible gambling framework. Every licensed online casino, land-based casino and gaming hall must verify a customer’s identity and check the register before allowing access. Anyone who voluntarily joins the system is excluded for at least six months, during which operators are required to refuse entry or block gambling accounts.
The register has grown rapidly. KSA figures show around 118,000 people are now listed, almost twice the 60,902 recorded at the end of 2023.
A government-commissioned review published in 2024 concluded that Cruks generally succeeds in preventing registered players from gambling. At the same time, it identified weaknesses elsewhere. Mandatory registrations remain slow and administratively complex, assessments often take three to four months, and parts of the land-based gambling sector still fall outside the system’s coverage.
Wider Compliance Campaign
The action against Casino Zoetermeer comes as the KSA continues to widen its enforcement activity across the Dutch gambling market.
In recent months, Unibet received a €400,000 penalty over a Cruks-related failure, while Betnation was issued a warning after missing exclusion checks for several customers. Separate responsible gambling cases resulted in fines of €886,000 for 711 and €500,000 for LeoVegas. Chestoption also faced a €3 million penalty for offering unlicensed gambling services.
The regulator has also expanded its focus beyond player protection systems. During the recent football World Cup, it ordered TonyBet to withdraw advertising that used imagery closely resembling well-known international footballers. Dutch gambling rules prohibit operators from using role models or recognisable sporting figures in promotional material. TonyBet removed the campaign immediately, and the KSA did not impose a financial penalty.
Source: igamingexpress.com
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