The Dutch Lower House has today adopted a motion calling for a ban on broadcasted gambling ads between 06:00 and 21:00. Lottery advertising and simple mentions of sponsorships during broadcasts will be exempt from this rule.
A motion intended to give sports associations a veto over which of their sporting events operators can offer bets on has been amended and will be voted on this Thursday.
Similarly, a motion requesting that no role models and influencers under 25 are allowed to be featured in gambling advertising has been temporarily withdrawn and may - after being amended - also receive a vote on Thursday.
At this point, it appears all but certain that both of these motions will be able to find majority support in their amended forms.
The Lower House also adopted an amended motion today calling on the government to investigate (rather than "determine" as in the original version) how the additional funds created by legalizing sports betting could be used to support sports and sports integrity measures.
This particular motion could conceivably lead to additional costs for licensed sports betting operators in the future.
As expected, the Lower House roundly rejected motions calling for a higher minimum age at which people are allowed to gamble, as well as an investigation into a total gambling advertising ban.
Finally, the Lower House adopted several fairly vague and unspecific motions that reaffirmed the cooling-off period; called for new measures to facilitate enforcement of gambling legislation in relation to video games (in particular with regard to loot boxes); and called on the government to develop additional measures to protect minors from advertising for risky gambling products on television and social media.
After Thursday we will know more about the amended motions that were not put to a vote today.
In particular, the motion calling for a veto power for sports associations regarding bets on the sporting events they organize, could have a negative impact on the sector. It seems likely, however, that sports associations will only receive a strengthened right of consultation, with the Netherlands Gambling Authority still having a final say over which bets would be permitted.
Stay tuned!