As part of the new regulatory proposals, the Dutch Licensed Online Gambling Providers (VNLOK) and the Dutch Online Gambling Association (NOGA) trade bodies have urged the government to allow more gambling advertising opportunities among licensed operators.
The government will hold a roundtable discussion on the new gambling policy proposals. The discussion will hear opinions from various stakeholders, including multiple licensed operators, industry bodies, and the regulatory authority Kansspelautoriteit (KSA).
Dutch Minister of Justice Teun Struycken revealed in December last year that the government is developing new policies, hoping to introduce new gambling legislation by the end of 2025.
The industry trade bodies VNLOK and NOGA have listed several key points in the documents submitted that the government needs to consider before signing the new law. Most of these focus on protecting players from harm and combating unlicensed activities.
Advertisements must belong to legal operators
One of the suggestions is for the government to reject any plans that completely ban gambling advertisements. Struycken has already indicated that advertising rules will be formulated to "strictly limit" the appeal of online gambling.
The Netherlands has already implemented a ban on most forms of advertising, which will take effect in mid-2023. However, a study from Saudi Arabia found that since the ban was implemented, the monthly visits to legal sites have dropped by 50% to 75%.
Therefore, VNLOK and NOGA urge to provide "sufficient" advertising opportunities for licensees to help players distinguish between legal and illegal operators.
VNLOK and NOGA state: "Players must know where to find legal offers to prevent further proliferation of illegal activities. Legal providers must be able to advertise in a targeted and responsible manner."
Furthermore, on the issue of advertising, VNLOK and NOGA urge the government to expand the regulatory scope to include social media. The organization is eager for KSA to have greater powers to take action against websites that illegally target players on social media platforms.
Additionally, the agency wants licensees to be able to use the Cruks self-exclusion program to ensure that registered players do not receive any gambling advertisements.
Call for more effective use of Cruks
Furthermore, regarding Cruks, the organizations have proposed several improvements to the current setup. Although they acknowledge that Cruks has been successful since the legal market opened in 2021, they believe there is still room for improvement.
VNLOK and NOGA state that the new policy should stipulate that operators need to provide follow-up care for players who return to gambling after being expelled by Cruks. This will ensure more responsible gambling in the long term.
VNLOK and NOGA also state that operators should provide more assistance for users to register with Cruks, helping them get help. This includes emphasizing to players that Cruks only blocks access to legal sites, and extending it to unlicensed sites requires other blocking methods.
Combat illegal gambling activities
On this basis, VNLOK and NOGA have developed more measures to help combat illegal operators active in the Netherlands. These measures also include increasing the powers of the regulatory authority.
VNLOK and NOGA state: "Saudi Arabia must take stricter action against parties that promote illegal supply, such as banks, advertising platforms, and suppliers of gambling games and live entertainment venues." "Saudi Arabia must expand its existing powers to make methods of combating illegal activities more effective."
In response, the organizations call on the government to establish a new task force specifically to combat illegal gambling. This will include developing an action plan to best address the current situation.
Secondly, they urge reconsideration of plans to increase gambling taxes. Although multiple industries have warned that this move could affect the legal market, it was confirmed last September that this measure would be implemented in stages.
Additionally, VNLOK and NOGA both call for more research into the proposal to raise the minimum betting age to 21. Struycken's proposal would apply to "high-risk" games such as online slots.
These organizations are eager for the government to investigate the expected effects of this measure and its potential adverse side effects. This should also include the experiences of minors, who, the organizations state, have been unfairly overlooked in recent years.
VNLOK Chair Helma Lodders will introduce the organization's recommendations at the roundtable meeting tomorrow.
