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European Union (EU) sanctions could be considered against Russia-linked companies sanctioned by Ukraine that are based in 颁耻谤补莽补辞, the Netherlands foreign minister has told the Dutch parliament.
The sanctions could be considered if a planned reform of gambling licensing planned by the 颁耻谤补莽补辞 government fails to meet expectations, said Dutch foreign affairs minister Wopke Hoekstra, speaking on Monday (June 26).
The questions came in response to an article this month in Dutch investigative journalism platform Follow the Money on 1xBet, which it said operates more than a thousand websites targeting gamblers in Europe, North America and Australia using a 颁耻谤补莽补辞 licence.
Follow the Money said it found more than 3m cryptocurrency transactions by 1xBet gamblers, totalling more than 鈧4bn in turnover.
鈥淪anctions adopted independently by third countries are normally not a subject of discussion between the Netherlands and 颁耻谤补莽补辞, but there has been contact with 颁耻谤补莽补辞 in response to the abovementioned article," Hoekstra said.
In January, 1xBet said it is based in Cyprus and its 颁耻谤补莽补辞 licence is only one of a number that it operates using a franchise system, and it denied current operations in Russia.
Last week, 颁耻谤补莽补辞 finance minister Javier Silvania promised 鈥渕ore due diligence鈥 and plans to start issuing new licences to gambling operators by September 1, to replace permits issued under a much-criticised master licensee-sublicensee system.
Speaking at a gambling conference in Malta, he also promised a new regulator, the 颁耻谤补莽补辞 Gaming Authority, with authority to issue licences and enforce rules with fines.
鈥淚t is unclear exactly how many licences have been granted, who the licence holders are and in which countries these providers are active,鈥 Hoekstra told the House of Representatives. 鈥淎 lack of supervision helps to maintain such a working method.鈥
The Netherlands will be in touch with the Ukrainian government to map out the scope of its sanctions against the Russia-linked gambling operators, and 颁耻谤补莽补辞 is researching the companies, he said.
鈥淚f this does not lead to follow-up steps where these would be appropriate, other instruments can also be considered, such as exploring EU sanctions,鈥 Hoekstra said.
In Spain, six 颁耻谤补莽补辞-based operators were fined 鈧5m each in the second half of 2022 for 鈥渧ery serious鈥 violations of Spanish law, with violations including being unlicensed in Spain.
