The Netherlands government has presented its proposed remote gambling rules to the European Union for input from interested parties.
Interested parties have until November 13th to offer their opinions, after which the European Union will determine if the rules align with EU regulations.
The rules include specific details on technical standards for permit holders, record maintenance, and reporting obligations. Additionally, they outline the actions that permit holders must take when players exhibit signs of problematic gambling.
These measures require operators to intervene in one of six ways.
Permit holders can highlight unhealthy gambling habits by providing player gambling data, or suggest they utilize problem gambling treatment resources. They can also encourage individuals to set time or spending limits, or advise them to voluntarily exclude themselves, in some cases, blocking players from gambling.
This rule states that the player’s age, how they play, and how they have responded to past actions, or if this is the first time they have been contacted, will determine what is done.
License holders must also give players a “clear and simple explanation” of why each action was chosen.
All license holders must give yearly reports that include the number of players registered, the number of background checks done, the number of registrations denied, the number of suspected violations, and the number of complaints received. The Dutch Gaming Authority (KSA) may ask for these reports more often during the year.
Licensees must record registration information for each player, including if extra checks were done, and data on the total amount and time the customer spent on different types of games.
They must also record details of investigations and data on each payment.
The rules also say that online casino games use “reliable random number generators” that are “not able to be changed,” and that live casino games are “protected from unauthorized access, unauthorized use, and manipulation.”
Licensees must also “not offer licensed gambling games with misleading names.”
As previously disclosed, the rule also states that “negative incidents” in soccer matches, such as cautions, cannot be used as betting subjects, nor can they be used as events that do not influence the result of the game.
The Dutch Remote Gambling Law was first presented in the House of Representatives in 2014 and was approved by the nation’s Senate in February 2019.
The Law will come into effect in January 2021, with licensed operators able to begin operating six months later in July 2021, later than originally planned. However, this launch date may be postponed, as the Minister for Legal Protection, Sander Dekker, has acknowledged that the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) could push the implementation date back by “several months.”
The government previously submitted an early portion of the Law to the European Commission in July. This included requirements for licensed operators to develop a strategy on addiction prevention, and players must set a maximum credit limit permitted on their accounts.
Rewards will be restricted, players can ban themselves from receiving promotional information, and operators will be prohibited from advertising gambling-related services between 6 am and 9 pm.
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