Interactive

The Netherlands – Dutch Gaming Authority promises crackdown on current online operators

By Phil - 1 June 2017

The Dutch Gaming Authority has outlined how it will crack down on illegal gaming sites that market to Dutch players and minors.

The crackdown will focus on sites which allow minors to participate.

HW Kesler, vice-chairman of the Dutch Gaming Authority, said: “The fact minors can participate in online gambling is unacceptable.”

Further guidelines, which will come into effect from the June 1 will be focus on those operators that target the Dutch market with games of chance via a website with a .com extension .games of chance via a website in the Dutch language.

It will look to crackdown on illegal online gambling offers advertised via radio, television or print media focused on the Dutch market.

It will ban the use of domain names containing typical Netherlands referring to concepts in conjunction with gaming indications (such as lump bingo ‘,’ fun poker ‘or’ red-white-blue-casinos).

It won’t allow features which focus on the Netherlands such as clogs or windmills or bonuses regarded as typically Dutch such as syrup waffles.

The Dutch Gaming Authority was created in 2012 to allow “safe play in a fair market.’

CEO Jan Suyver said: “We must work together to ensure that people can play safely on a fair market in a dynamic and sometimes turbulent environment. After five years, we are in good form. Over the next five years we will continue to monitor game offerings so that our grandchildren can gamble safely on a fair market.

The Gaming Bill KOA will give us much needed additional powers that KOA gives us much needed. In the gaming sector you do not need cowboys. We want to remove the ‘land-based cowboys’ but we can stop the’ cowboys online. Bonafide operators do their best to prevent gambling addiction. They provide a clean market and provide information we need as a player.”

Klaas Dijkhoff Secretary of the Ministry of Security and Justice congratulated the Gaming Authority with its fifth anniversary. “In recent years a lot of good work has been done. The Gambling Authority has really gained a foothold in the past five years. Safe play on a fair market is a common goal. The question is: who is trustworthy and who is not? The Netherlands is a consumer country, the Dutch are very keen on reviews. The bill has been delayed as it requires a lot of attention from the Gaming Authority. The Gaming Authority has to be effective. We must protect and Dutch companies who evade addressing the rules.”

The Gaming Authority is getting smarter in combating illegality and criminality. The Authority’s Peter Eerligh said: “We can analyse 3.3m websites in ten days. We have developed a program that screens sites on certain characteristics. This allows us to easily make a pre-selection from many websites make a pre-selection.”

The Upper House of Parliament in The Netherlands is currently debating the Remote Gaming (KOA) bill which aims to regulate online gambling.