Netherlands’ iGaming legislation proposals sent to EU Commissions
The Dutch government has supposedly submitted a draft of its proposed regulations on iGaming and Online casino games for approval by the European Commission.
Stakeholders, operators, and other interested parties now have until November 13th to submit comments regarding these planned iGaming rules to the European Commission before the governing body will determine whether they are compatible with EU laws.
Legislators ratified the nation’s Remote Gambling Act some 18 months ago and are now finalizing a definitive set of governing regulations. It was first introduced to the house of representatives in 2014.
The Netherlands is still hoping to start its inaugural iGaming licensing application process in January with proposed regulations covering particulars like records keeping, technical standards, and reporting requirements. However, they do acknowledge that the effects of the coronavirus pandemic may push back the implementation date by a “few months.”
The proposed legislation includes better support for at-risk players
The proposals include measures that operators will be required to take if a player is showing signs of developing a gambling problem.
Operators will intervene with certain players by offering advice on treatment resources after providing data highlighting specific unhealthy behaviors. They are also being asked to encourage at-risk gamblers to establish time and spending limits or participate in a self-exclusion program.
A strict, last-ditch measure would see problem gamblers blocked from an operators’ site if all of the earlier precautions are ignored.
The operators would be required to provide individual players with a “clear and comprehensive explanation” behind each intervention and the regulations do stipulate that the choice of measure should depend on the age of the player, the playing behavior observed as well as how the player has responded to previous interventions.
Under the proposed rules, all license holders and operators will have to submit annual registers specifying the number of registered players, rejected actions, complaints, suspected integrity breaches, and due diligence checks. This would all be subject to scrutiny by the Dutch Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) regulator who would be able to request more frequent tallies and compel iGaming firms to keep detailed information on each customer including total time and money spent across various verticals alongside whether they had been subject to an intervention.
How online casino games would be affected by the legislation
Further security and transparency regulations have been imposed on electronic casino games. They will now be required to use a ‘reliable random number generator’ that ‘cannot be manipulated’ with all live-dealer entertainment protected from “unauthorized access, unauthorized use, and manipulation”.
Operators must also refrain from presenting “games of chance under a name that is misleading” and not offer sports betting markets on ‘negative events’ such as the number of yellow cards in a soccer match and variables that have no direct impact on the game’s outcome.
Bonuses and similar features will also be heavily restricted, with players given the ability to bar themselves from receiving promotions; operators will be barred from advertising gambling-related services between 6 am and 9 pm.