The Dutch market has lost two unauthorised iGaming businesses.

After being faced with highly expensive "corrective sanctions," two illegal iGaming companies apparently decided to completely withdraw from the burgeoning business in the small nation of the Netherlands.

The Kansspelautoriteit said in a press statement on Thursday that it had completed formal investigations earlier in the year and found that many domains operated by LCS Limited and MKC Limited allowed Dutch punters to create accounts and engage in real-money gambling. The regulator also claimed that the companies' activities were 'prohibited' under the provisions of 2016 regulatory law because they had never held a local iGaming licence.

Expensive risk:

There are about 18 million people in the Netherlands, therefore illegal iGaming operations must take special precautions to prevent their services from reaching local gamblers. Later, the Kansspelautoriteit disclosed that it had issued "cease and desist" orders to both MKC Limited and LCS Limited, with potential fines of up to €84,000 ($81,600) and €165,000 ($160,400) for each company.

See what the Kansspelautoriteit has to say in a statement.

"Unlicensed providers of games of chance are required to block access to their service in the Netherlands."

Leak from the Regulators:

However, the Kansspelautoriteit revealed that the two were exempt from the hefty fines, which could have totaled up to €55,000 ($53,500) per week, because they had immediately complied with the 'cease and desist' commands by beginning to prohibit Dutch punters from accessing their services. This action comes only days after the regulator issued its first annual study of the Dutch iGaming business, in which chair Rene Jansen reiterated that protecting Dutch players in online casinos remains "the desired ultimate goal."

The Kansspelautoriteit issued the following statement:

Penalties of €165,000 ($160,400) and €84,000 ($81,60) were levied against LCS Limited and MKC Limited, respectively. LCS Limited and MKC Limited did not allow the offer to reach the point when those sums were due and thereby avoided any potential financial liability. The Kansspelautoriteit will keep an eye on things to see if nothing changes.

dramatic escalation

A year ago, the Netherlands licenced over 20 domains for use in its newly regulated iGaming sector, which includes popular destinations like HollandCasino.nl, BetCity.nl, and Circus.nl. As a result of the government's recent decision to lift the 'cooling off period' exclusion of those businesses that had serviced Dutch players before to legalisation, it is widely believed that this club will expand even further.