Members of the Netherlands trade association known as the Licensed Dutch Gaming Providers (VNLOK) have agreed to a voluntary code for online gaming. VNLOK members include Holland Casino, FPO Nederland, JOI Gaming, Nederlandse Loterij and ZEbet.
The code includes limiting bonuses, daytime ads and promotions aimed at people 24 and under. It extends some of the restrictions imposed on TV advertising, and limits ads when higher viewership among minors is expected.
The code will be in effect until March 2023, when it will be reevaluated.
Another trade group, Netherlands Online Gambling Association (NOGA), has also called for an industry-wide code of conduct.
This comes as the 11 licensed operators in the Netherlands have spent €23 million (US $26 million) on online gambling advertising, with the state-owned Holland Casino and Toto spending the most.
Both companies commented to Volkskrant that their objective is to direct bettors to legal, safe and responsible sites. They added that they had been licensed earliest, and so had a head start on other companies.
Currently 75 percent of gaming advertising is on digital gaming and 88 percent of all gambling ads appear on websites and social media.
About two weeks ago Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) the Dutch Gambling Authority, issued its first citations against an unnamed operator for advertising violations.
Meanwhile, Sander Dekker, Netherlands minister for legal protection, has announced he is targeting illegal gaming sites in Curacao, a Dutch-based island nation in the Caribbean.
Dekker made the announcement in response to reports that an estimated 12,000 illegal gambling sites on the island are responsible for 40 percent of the world’s unregulated gaming.
The island agreed to appoint an independent gaming regulator with the power to grant or revoke gaming licenses. It also agreed to force companies operating on its shores to operate within the laws and regulations of the countries they target, and also collect taxes and license fees.
“There is a small number of master licenses provided by the authorities of Curacao which could be transferred without the intervention of a government body,” said Dekker. “This has resulted in a large number of sub-licenses, which explains the range of online games available in Curacao.”
He said he is “committed to limiting the illegal offering of games of chance from Curacao. Curacao is currently working on a step-by-step plan of action to limit and better regulate the supply of games of chance. As expected, this action plan will be adopted this month.”
He noted that Curacao is “fiscally autonomous.”
