
The Dutch government has set out regulations underlining the most important points of the Remote Gaming Act, with parliamentarians now able to submit their comments and views, to get legal online gambling in the Netherlands one step closer.
The regulations are a part of the Remote Gaming Decree, in which online casinos are explained how to behave themselves and which rules and regulations they must follow to obtain a Dutch licence.
The gambling regulator in Holland, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), is in charge to make a final decision on applications within six months of their submission, starting 1st of January 2021. KSA chairman René Jansen said operators will be eligible for five-year licences. Applications will cost €45,000 for each online gaming licence and if the application is not granted, the fee won’t be refunded. Applications must be send to the KSA in Dutch language and a Dutch translation must be included with the official documents alongside the application.
The licences will include sports betting such as the English Premier League or Dutch Eredivisie, betting on horse racing such as quinella or exacta and online betting such as peer-to-peer casino games and finally casino games where the players bet against the house such as poker. Unfortunately online lotteries will not be included.
When betting on sports events, the licensees are not allowed to offer bets on amateur or youth matches, or any sports event which could easily be manipulated.
Gambling adverts are not allowed to be shown on television before a 9PM watershed. Originally this was set between 7PM and 6AM, however this has been amended by a suggestion made by the House of Representatives late last year. The advertising window for lottery products however will remain between 7PM and 6AM.
Justice Minister Sander Dekker highlighted this in a letter to the House, where he warned against more tighter restrictions on advertising as these could have a negative impact on getting players towards the legally licenced operators.
The minister again spoke about his confidence that operators that targeted Dutch players without having a licence would get a two year cooling off period which in his eyes still is a sufficient punishment however he would consider a six-month extension.
The latest expectation shows around 68 companies would get a licence in Holland, of which 41 would be foreign operators. This is way lower compared tot he 183 operators that had interest in getting a licence as announced by the KSA in June 2019. The Dutch market is ready for a major change in the near future, with the Remote Gaming Act starting 1 July 2021, which will turn the Netherlands into a regulated gambling market. From 1 January 2021 the online gambling market in the Netherlands will go open for all Dutch and foreign gaming operators. From January the regulator is allowed to start the process of getting a licence application.
During the first year of legal online gambling, from July 2021 the gross gaming revenue is expected to reach €300 million. This amount will rise up to €500 million in following years, according to the latest calculations made by the Dutch government.