KSA fines licensee ComeOn €750k and unlicensed Starscream €4.2m

Summary

The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has fined Tulipa Ent Limited (operator of the ComeOn brand) €750,000 for failures in its duty of care between December 2023 and September 2024. Separately, Starscream Limited — operating sites such as rantcasino.com, allstarzcasino.com and sugarcasino.com from Saint Lucia — was hit with a €4,228,000 penalty for illegally offering gambling services to Dutch customers and failing to stop access after being ordered to do so.

Key Points

ComeOn (Tulipa Ent Limited) fined €750,000 for inadequate player protection and failures to identify and act on problem gambling warning signs.
KSA reviewed 10 young-adult player files where significant losses occurred and found delayed or incorrect interventions and insufficient scrutiny of high deposit limits.
Starscream Limited fined €4,228,000 for operating without a Dutch licence and allowing Dutch residents to register, deposit and play with no technical barriers.
Investigators found Starscream sites lacked visible age verification controls and offered autoplay features, increasing addiction risks and breaching Dutch standards.
KSA is working with payment providers, hosting services, banks and tech firms to disrupt unlicensed operators, though collecting fines from outside the EU remains challenging.

Content Summary

The KSA’s actions underscore its continued focus on player protection and suppression of illegal gambling in the Netherlands. For ComeOn, the regulator determined the operator did not meet statutory duty of care obligations — particularly concerning vulnerable young adults — citing failures in detecting early-warning signs and applying timely interventions. Excessively high deposit thresholds were also permitted without adequate checks.

In Starscream’s case, the regulator found that Dutch users could fully access and use the unlicensed platforms; prior orders to cease were ignored. The investigation flagged missing age-verification measures and autoplay features as additional breaches that elevate addiction risk. KSA emphasised multi-pronged enforcement, including cooperation with banks and tech providers, to tackle illegal offerings.

Context and Relevance

This is a significant enforcement development for operators, payment partners and compliance teams in iGaming. The fines show the KSA’s willingness to pursue both licensed firms for duty-of-care lapses and offshore operators for illegal market access. It highlights regulatory priorities: stronger monitoring of young-adult players, tighter controls on deposits and product features that can drive harm, and active disruption of unlicensed sites via third-party partners.

Why should I read this?

Quick heads-up: if you run, work with or supply tech to gambling sites that reach Dutch customers, this matters. The KSA isn’t just issuing warnings — it’s handing out big fines and dragging unlicensed operators into costly enforcement. Read it to check whether your player-protection, deposit checks and age-verification measures would pass their scrutiny.