Hundreds of gaming and betting companies look forward to the re-organization of the Dutch gambling market, Senate to vote on Remote Gaming Bill tomorrow
More than 300 international gambling companies are believed to be interested in entering a re-organized Dutch gambling market, local news outlet Dutch News reports ahead of tomorrow’s vote on the so-called Remote Gaming Bill.
Dutch News further says citing Financieele Dagblad that at least 50 operators are expected to formally apply for a license to conduct gaming and betting activities in the Netherlands, if these get regulated.
The Dutch Senate has scheduled a long-anticipated and long-overdue vote on the above-mentioned piece of legislation for tomorrow. Senate members finally brought the bill to the discussion table at a February 5 hearing. However, a vote on the legislation did not take place during that hearing as lawmakers tasked Dutch Minister for Legal Protection Sander Dekker with providing more information about the Remote Gaming Bill and how the local gambling space would be regulated.
Minister Dekker had to present written answers to three questions raised by his fellow legislators by Friday, February 8. His answers were discussed during a February 12 hearing.
The Remote Gaming Bill was approved by the lower house of the Dutch Parliament back in the summer of 2016. It was then up to the Senate to vote it, but it took nearly three years before the time for that necessary vote came.
Cooling Down Period for “Cowboys”
Senate members appeared content with Minister Dekker’s written response to their questions during last Tuesday’s debate. Among other things, the minister had to provide information on whether there should be a blackout period for operators that actively targeted Dutch customers before the local market’s re-organization.
Minister Dekker said that there will be a two-year cooling down period for companies he called “cowboys”, that is gambling companies that “offer payment instruments such as iDeal, whose advertising is aimed at the Netherlands, or who make use of a Dutch domain name” to target Dutch customers, despite not being authorized to do so. This means that such operators would not be allowed to apply for a license when the country’s new law takes effect.
Minister Dekker also provided comments on how gambling products should be advertised after the re-regulation of the local market. There were suggestions that gambling ads should be banned completely, but the minister advised against a measure of this kind as it would have a negative impact on player channelization.
There seems to be enough support for the Remote Gaming Bill in the Dutch Senate and the piece is likely to be passed during tomorrow’s vote. However, analysts suggest that the new regulatory regime is not likely to be implemented before January 1, 2021.
A recently published research shows that more and more Dutch people engage in gambling with internationally licensed companies, even though such companies are currently prohibited from targeting local gamblers. According to the research in question, 1.86 million Dutch people gambled on unauthorized websites between 2016 and 2018. Online poker and casino games were the most popular products, but sports betting also rose in popularity during the reviewed period.
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