A Facebook bingo game planner could get a €200,000 fine in the Netherlands for breaking the law.

 The Dutch Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), which oversees gambling, has ordered an unlicensed bingo provider to pay a €200,000 fine for illegally offering games.
 Netherlands: The fine for bingo
 The case is about Baco's Zaal bingo, an event that was held and played through live video streams on the Facebook page of the event planner.  KSA said the case has been going on since 2022 and that the organiser had been told before about doing illegal bingo activities.

 Now, the planner could be told to pay almost €200,000 (£165,816/$207,837) if it doesn't stop right away.  KSA made its choice in November, but the decision was only made public today, January 7.

 When KSA talked about the case, they said that in August and September 2024, a supervisor had taped live bingo streams on the Baco's Zaalbingo Facebook page.  This came after posts made earlier in August that promoted more bingo games that would happen later that month.

 Tickets for the games, which were on August 31 and September 1, cost €25, and gifts were shown during each game.

 Bingo organiser gets in trouble for repeat crimes
 According to Dutch law, small games of chance like bingo can only be put on by an organisation that has been around for at least three years.  People who run casinos are not allowed to offer bingo in the country.

 It also says that legal bingo games can't have more than €1,550 in prizes, and the biggest prize can't be more than €400.

 KSA said in its ruling that it had contacted the organiser in March 2022 after an investigation found that the activities were illegal.  But when the page was checked again in August of last year, bingo was still being promoted and played on the same Facebook page.

 This meant that KSA was sure the planner did not meet the legal requirements for bingo games.  It also said that the prizes were much bigger than what was allowed and that the games had been advertised improperly before they were played.  In the Netherlands, almost all ads for gaming are illegal.

 The biggest fine is set at €196,875
 Because of this, it is giving the planner a penalty payment order.  If the planner doesn't follow the rules, they could be fined a total of €196,875.

 There are two parts to this sentence order.  First, the person who plans the bingo game will have to pay €13,125 for each one they host, up to a total of €131,250.  Besides that, the fine for each ad is €6,562, and it can go up to €65,625.

 KSA said it took this step because there is a "high" chance that the same thing will happen again.

 It's partly because the person who organised it says in a Facebook video that he does it every once in a while, KSA said.  "He was officially told off for this in 2022, but he kept doing it anyway."

 People who play this kind of illegal bingo can win tens of thousands of euros.  That is why the KSA is taking strong steps to stop this.

 This is the second rule that KSA has made public this week.  Alimaniere Sociedad De Responsabilidad Limitada was also fined yesterday (January 6) for running online gambling games without a local licence.