meta_id 3240204

On March 2026, the Netherlands Gambling Authority (Kansspelautoriteit, KSA) issued a warning to Smart Gaming, which operates the online gambling platform Betnation, for failing to perform mandatory checks against Cruks, the Dutch national self-exclusion registry also known as Gokstop, between January and March 2026. During this period, a number of players were able to gamble online without the KSA verifying whether they were registered on Cruks. Online gambling operators in the Netherlands are required to check Cruks before allowing player participation. Individuals registered on Cruks are prohibited from accessing legal online gambling, gaming machine halls, and casinos in the Netherlands. The registry currently contains approximately 118,000 registered individuals seeking self-protection against gambling harm. Betnation attributed the failure to a technical error. After discovering the issue, the operator manually reviewed affected players and identified a small group for whom it could not definitively determine whether they were registered on Cruks during the incident period. Some of these players gambled during this timeframe, and one player was confirmed to have been registered on Cruks while still accessing gambling services. The KSA emphasised the severity of the breach, noting that players who self-exclude must be able to rely on that protection from licensed operators. Betnation self-reported the incident to the KSA and implemented remedial measures, including financially compensating affected players and exploring additional support options such as counselling or responsible gambling courses in partnership with relevant organisations. Given these corrective actions, the KSA opted to issue a warning rather than pursue stricter enforcement. The KSA stated it expects all operators to execute Cruks checks correctly and will continue monitoring compliance closely.