Crimes connected to online gaming are fueling the launching of a national campaign by the Netherlands to fight digital fraud, iGaming Business reported October 23.
The effort was announced by Dutch Minister for Legal Protection Franc Weerwind, prompted by concerns that fellow members of parliament raised over match-fixing made through social media.
The government campaign is aimed first at young people, to help them recognize scams that include offers that are often too good to be true.
Weerwind announced the program during parliamentary questioning after a report that alleged social media influencers on Telegram were defrauding the fans by promoting fake results. No evidence suggests the young people were doing match fixing, but they may have been dupes. Some of the transactions were paid for with cryptocurrency.
The minister said influencers shouldn’t be promoting risky games of chance. He noted that the law bans gaming companies from employing role models who appeal to that age group. He declared, “People are being scammed. Awareness about and recognition of online scams by citizens can help prevent victimization.”
The minister resisted suggestions that the legalization of online gaming had created social problems. He said he prefers to wait until the publishing of a review of the impact of the Remote Gaming Act in 2024. The market created by the act turned two years old in October.
Weerwind said he has “ banned the use of role models as of 30 June 2022 and untargeted advertising for online gambling as of 1 July 2023. Addiction prevention is central to my policy efforts.”
The Dutch gaming regulator, KSA will soon begin work on how to expand the self-exclusion service among various target groups.
