KSA Calls Out 711 for Making Some Players Wager Their Deposits Before Withdrawing

The Dutch regulator says 711 required customers paying by methods other than an ordinary bank account to stake deposited money at least once before cashing it out, and called the practice highly undesirable. There is no fine, and no figure for how many players were affected; it is the third public round of this kind since the KSA warned operators in March 2024.

• The Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) said on 9 October it had called 711 to account for requiring some customers to wager money they had deposited at least once before they could withdraw it
• The condition applied to players using payment methods other than an "ordinary" bank account, and 711 told the regulator it had been set up as an anti-money-laundering measure
• The KSA says play-through conditions are allowed only with a bonus the player has been offered, under strict conditions, and that anti-money-laundering delays must be as short as possible and never structural
• After a conversation with the regulator, 711 took measures to prevent a repeat and said players who did not want to play through could have the amount refunded to the original payment method; no fine was announced
• It is the second public KSA action against licence holder 711 B.V. this year, after a €886,000 duty-of-care fine in June, and its Dutch licence runs until 15 March 2027

The KSA Rejects a Money-Laundering Rationale for Making Deposits Play Through

The Netherlands Gambling Authority, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), said on Friday that it had called licensed operator 711 to account for obliging some customers to stake deposited money before they could withdraw it. The licence holder behind 711.nl is 711 B.V., registered in Jabbeke, Belgium, whose Dutch remote gambling licence runs from 16 March 2022 to 15 March 2027, according to the KSA's sanction decision of 26 May 2026. The brand belongs to the Belgian De Backer family, according to CasinoNieuws.nl, as reported when the family sold Carousel's parent to Gaming1 last month.

The KSA said it received a signal that 711 applied the condition to people using payment methods other than an "ordinary" bank account; it did not say which. According to the regulator, 711 said the procedure was part of its measures to prevent money laundering.

The KSA accepted half of that argument. Payouts may be delayed for a money-laundering investigation, it said, but the delay must be as short as possible and payment may not be structurally suspended, and an operator may not require deposits to be wagered at least once. Play-through conditions are allowed only with an offered bonus, under strict conditions; otherwise operators must pay out as quickly as possible. It called 711's approach "zeer onwenselijk" (highly undesirable).

After a conversation with the regulator, 711 took measures to prevent a repeat and clarified that players who did not want to play through could have the amount refunded to their original payment method, the KSA said. Operators were informed in 2024, it added, such breaches should no longer occur, and it could act more strictly if 711 offends again. No fine or formal order was announced. The KSA did not say how many players were affected, which payment methods, for how long, or whether anyone lost money playing a deposit through. 711's position is known only from the regulator's notice.

The Rules, and Two Earlier Rounds

The Remote Gambling Decree (Bkoa) requires operators to debit the gaming account without unnecessary delay (article 4.26) and to pay a balance to the player's nominated account when the player asks (article 4.29). The KSA's payout guidance names play-through requirements on deposits, and minimum withdrawal amounts of any size, as prohibited, while allowing delay for a source-of-funds check under the anti-money-laundering act, the Wwft, or on a reasonable suspicion of fraud.

In March 2024 the KSA set out such prohibited conditions to operators. On 13 August 2024 it said it had ordered 9 licensed operators to stop using them and warned 4 more, without naming any. On 17 July 2025 it warned ZEbet after a player who had taken no bonus could not withdraw a deposit, which ZEbet blamed on a technical error fixed the same day, and called Starcasino to account over contradictory terms.

A Third Round Since 2024 Says the Warning Has Not Settled the Market

The 711 notice reads almost word for word like the ZEbet one, and both end in a conversation rather than a sanction. Case by case that is defensible: 711 changed its procedure, and refunds were, on its account, available. But the KSA's line that such breaches "should no longer occur" sits awkwardly with a third public round since March 2024. Naming an operator and promising stricter action next time makes publicity the penalty, and a fourth case would show it is not enough.

The Money-Laundering Concern Is Real, but It Was Applied as a Blanket Rule

711's rationale is not frivolous. Money paid in through a non-bank method and taken straight back out is a pattern compliance teams watch, and only a day earlier the KSA said it treats credit cards and PayPal as a higher risk when operators verify who stands behind a payment. The objection is to the form. The Wwft route is a short delay for a specific investigation; a play-through condition is a standing rule on everyone using a given method, which is what the regulator means by structural. It also asks customers to gamble, an odd control in a market where the KSA insists players get their money out without obstruction.

711's Record Now Carries Into a Renewal Year

The €886,000 duty-of-care fine came in a decision dated 26 May; chief executive Tom De Backer said in June the company had always acted in good faith and was investigating its next steps, according to iGaming Expert. 711's licence expires on 15 March 2027, and the KSA said in September that renewals weigh violations definitively established over five years and what the operator did about them. Whether an informal call to account counts is not stated, but a second public issue in one year will not strengthen 711's file.

The KSA has settled this one with a conversation and a press notice. The next operator that makes players gamble their own deposits should expect something firmer.