New Gambling Law in the Netherlands Explained

From rumors to reality, the law that would legalize online gambling in the Netherlands is finally enacted by the Dutch parliament. The Remote Gambling Decree was presented to the parliament, along with two different letters filled with answers responding to questions that had earlier been raised at the previous parliamentary debates. The major points of discussion were in regards to extending the cooling-off period by six-months and whether or not to prohibit the advertisement of online gambling services. At the end of the day, the cool-off period was extended and the proposed ban on advertising was denied. 

The Dutch judicial head submitted the Remote Gambling Decree or the “Decree” to the Dutch Parliament’s lower chamber on the 3rd of March, 2020. The Decree is a subsidiary of the Remote Gambling Bill which is being developed. The Decree provides the necessary requirements and conditions for the operation of online gambling licensing as well as essential guidelines to regulate the operation of online gambling across the Netherlands. 

Decree for Remote Gambling 

The Decree highlights the applicable conditions for online gambling license and it also provides secondary regulations that covers all online gambling activities that are aimed at the Netherlands market. Here are some of the subjects addressed in the Decree. 

Licenses 

Once the Dutch gambling market is opened, operators will only be able to secure licenses for only 4 types of online casino games. These includes: 

·         Games where players bet against the license owner; 

·         One-on-one play between players; 

·         Sport betting based on final result of sport events; 

·         Horse race betting; 

The duration for the license is 5 years, after which there shall be need for a renewal. 

License Holders 

This deals with the reliability requirements before application. All applicants and license holders must have exhibited traits of reliability and must have complied with all the legal regulations and guidelines provided for in the Decree (chapter 3), inter alia. By virtue of this, all entrants must have European Economic Area (EEA) membership. If not, they would be required to establish a Netherland branch. You can check onlinecasinoshex.nl for a list of online gambling operators in the Netherlands.

Also, applicants will undertake a series of reliability requirements, including a reliability assessment that would be conducted by the DBGA (Dutch Betting and Gambling Authority). The agency won’t only assess the known applicant itself but its directors and key shareholders. To this end, applicants are advised to give the DBGA all the necessary information that would facilitate a seamless assessment. This is to ensure that the candidate is not entangled to any administrative tax or criminal law antecedents. 

Enforcement and Supervision 

The Decree gives the DBGA sole responsibility over monitoring and enforcing adherence to the legislation within the operators of online gambling. The Decree’s Chapter 4 provides details on additional enforcement measures including control of database, reporting obligation and direct access from the gaming authority to the internal systems of the defaulting or any license holder. 

The Decree also addressed the organization of remote gambling games, as well as other technical requirements and consumer protection policies.