Dutch regulator fines Merkur Casino Almere

Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit has handed Merkur Casino Almere a fine of €45,000, becoming the latest group to fall foul of the CRUKS regulations. 

CRUKS is the Central Register of Exclusion of Games of Chance and Netherlands-licensed gambling operators are obligated to verify if players are registered and prevent them from accessing their services if they are.

However, the regulatory authority discovered that Merkur Casino Almere did not fulfil its legal obligation to conduct an audit, as it allowed entry to a person who was registered with the CRUKS.

“When checking the data in CRUKS of the person in question, employees of the casino received an error message and were therefore unable to verify whether the person was registered in the register,” The KSA stated.

“On that basis, the person should have been denied access to the casino. Because the casino failed to do so nine times within the aforementioned period, the Gaming Authority has imposed a fine of €45,000.”

The KSA has been on a regulatory rampage this year and Merkur Casino Almere is the latest Netherlands gambling operator to be issued with a fine.

Last month BetEnt was fined €400,000 for advertising violation while Winning Poker Network was issued a cease and desist order. In March Red Ridge Marketing was issued a €675,000 fine, while bet365 received a €400,000 fine.