A delay in deploying the Netherlands self-exclusion program prevented Dutch players from being able to gamble online until October 4, according to regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA).
The Centraal Register Uitsluiting Kansspelen (CRUKS) newly regulated online gaming market was supposed to have launched October 1 with 10 licensed operators. But technical issues with the self-exclusion program delayed it several days.
Now the online market and self-exclusion program are working. The Netherlands is one of the last European countries to legalize online gaming.
A total of 28 operators have applied for licenses. The 10 granted licenses so far include TOTO Online, FPO Netherlands, Holland Casino, GGPoker, Play North, Tombola, Bet365, Bingoal Netherlands, Betent, and LiveScore Malta.
Betent has partnered with the Kambi Group to launch BetCity.nl in the Dutch market. Kambi’s technology and expertise will combine in a brand whose assets will include Casino City in Amsterdam.
The online market began operating more than two years after the States General, the Dutch legislature, passed the Act on Remote Gambling establishing the online market. However the Covid pandemic delayed implementation.
An identify management platform enables players to self-exclude for at least six months.
All licensed gaming operators in the country are required to become part of the network. Those operating without a license could be fined hundreds of thousands of euros. One company, Tipico, was fined €531,250 for offering gaming in the Netherlands.
According to KSA Chairman Rene Jansen, “For the first time, we now have instruments with which we can really intervene.”
The licenses only apply to online gaming. Holland Casino, a state-owned monopoly, continues to control all land-based casinos.
The government crackdown has prompted online operators Betsson and LeoVegas to cease operating in the Netherlands. They join operators Entain, 888 Holdings and Kindred, who said they will not offer services to Dutch players and who have promised to apply for a license by the end of the year.
The operators hope to be granted licenses to operate legally. There is a two-year “cooling off period” before platforms that allowed Dutch players to play in the past can obtain licenses. The government has estimated that 800,000 Dutch gamble online annually.
Betsson’s outgoing CEO and President Pontus Lindwall, commented, “Compliance with laws, rules and ethical standards in the countries in which we operate is a foundation for Betsson,” Pontus Lindwall, outgoing CEO and president of Betsson.
“We have a strong belief in the Dutch market, and we have a clear ambition to operate under the new Dutch regulatory framework in the future, making us able to yet again offer Dutch customers an outstanding and sustainable customer experience.”
Kindred CEO Henrik Tjärnström said it believes it doesn’t have to block Dutch customers from the Netherlands as long as it did not target them, but said it is waiting for clarification. He added, “It’s our understanding that international operators are not required to block Dutch players.” He added, “We’ve taken steps to temporarily cease our activities due to formative changes which created uncertainty in the market. We’ve not been actively targeting the Dutch market . . .”
Meanwhile two online gaming associations, Vergunde Nederlandse Online Kansspelaanbieders (VNLOK) and VAN Kansspelen have joined forces to create a new code of conduct for advertising. They did not finish the code in time for the opening of the online market. This caused VNLOK chairwoman Helma Lodders to comment, “It is a pity that we have not been able to come up with a definitive advertising code for the opening of the online gambling market on 1 October,” adding, “We remain committed to arriving at a definitive code because making advertising proportionate is in the interest of consumers, advertisers and the providers of advertising time.”
Among features of the code: bonuses may not be advertise on broadcast or billboards and operators should not use language “urgently” calling for “excessive behavior” with an example being: “You have nothing to lose.”
Ads should also not suggest that gaming is important to happiness or to social acceptance.
