Ksa Fines Merkur Casino Almere for Allowing Player Without Checking Central Register of Exclusion of Games of Chance

May 5, 2023 | Government

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (May 4, 2023) — The Gaming Authority (Ksa) has imposed a fine of 45,000 euros on Merkur Casino Almere.

The casino receives this fine because it gave access to a person registered in the Central Register of Exclusion of Games of Chance (Cruks) and therefore failed to comply with the statutory audit obligation.

In the period between February 17, 2022 and March 2, 2022, a person registered in Cruks managed to gain access to Merkur Casino in Almere nine times. Cruks is a register containing people who are excluded from high-risk games of chance.

Gambling providers with a license in the Netherlands check whether players are listed in Cruks and thus ensure that those listed in the register cannot gamble. Cruks is therefore an important tool for combating gambling addiction and protecting players against the undesirable effects of gambling.

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.

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.