Gaming Authority cracks down on illegal online casino Time2Spin
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16 Nov 2024 •
Reading time: 2 minutes It was a cat-and-mouse game between the Dutch Gaming Authority and the online casino Time2Spin. Despite earlier warnings, the casino platform remains accessible to Dutch people, thanks to a clever trick: a so-called mirror site. This cunning move did not go unnoticed by the Gaming Authority, which is why they have now imposed a hefty fine of up to €420,000. This will be an expensive joke for Time2Spin if they do not quickly adjust their policy.
The company behind Time2Spin, Alimaniere Sociedad de Responsabilidad, operates from Costa Rica and offers gambling with cryptocurrencies. This attracts the attention of players who want to gamble outside the Dutch rules, especially because the casino is advertised on affiliate sites as a “casino without Cruks”. This means that players can register without registering in the Cruks system, which normally puts a brake on gambling behavior. The site has now been blocked for Dutch users, but the question is how long that will remain the case.
Autoplay function and gambling options for Dutch people
It all started on February 28, 2023, when the Dutch Gaming Authority first checked Time2Spin. They could simply create an account from the Netherlands and pay with a Dutch credit card. And as if that wasn’t enough, they also saw that players could use autoplay. This allowed them to automatically perform spins on a slot machine without having to press a button every time. The Dutch Gaming Authority tried it out themselves and had played a number of spins on the popular slot machine ‘The Dog House’ in no time. That discovery indicated that Time2Spin was actively violating Dutch gambling regulations.
In the summer of 2023, the Dutch Gaming Authority sent a warning to Time2Spin with the message that they would impose a penalty if the casino did not stop. During an inspection in November, they saw that the site had set up an IP block. With this, Time2Spin seemed to be adhering to the rules, and the Gaming Authority decided not to enforce the fine yet. They informed the parent company in Costa Rica that they would not take any action for the time being.
Smart move keeps Time2Spin open to Dutch players after all
However, the peace did not last long. During a new inspection on January 16, 2024, the Gaming Authority discovered that Time2Spin was still accessible to Dutch gamblers. This time they used a so-called mirror site, Time2Spin1, with which the casino kept its services available in a roundabout way. Dutch players could log in with their old accounts, navigate the site in Dutch and, yes, just bet on slot machines such as ‘The Dog House’.