German online gambling operator Bet-at-home has been hit with €410k in financial penalties by Netherlands gaming regulators who say the company explicitly targeted Dutch punters without a local license.

On Tuesday, the Netherlands’ Kansspelautoreit (KSA) gaming regulatory body announced that it had sanctioned the Frankfurt-listed Bet-at-home for a variety of offenses, including promoting its products in the Dutch language, incorporating the Dutch flag in its marketing and allowing its website to be accessed from Dutch IP addresses.

The KSA says it previously discussed these issues with the company in 2012 and 2014, but was informed in May 2017 of the existence of Bet-at-home adverts appearing on a television channel aimed at Netherlands residents. This prompted the regulator to open a new investigation into Bet-at-home’s activities last October.

KSA agents were able to open accounts with Bet-at-home from Dutch IP addresses, and were able to fund those accounts with Dutch online payment processor iDeal, whose services were recommended on the Bet-at-home website.