888 and Casumo to apply for Dutch iGaming license
Both 888 and Casumo have announced that they will apply for a Dutch iGaming license.
888 “continues to believe the Netherlands represents an attractive medium-term opportunity and intends to apply for a local license in the coming months,” the company said in a trading update.
In the meantime, the operator will withdraw from the Dutch market, which will cost an estimated $10m in EBITDA in 2022, the company also revealed.
Malta-based Casumo will also apply for a Dutch remote license, CasinoNieuws reports.
In 2019, Casumo was fined €310,000 by the Dutch regulator for offering online gambling services in the country without a license.
In related news, LiveScore Bet, which successfully applied for a Dutch Remote license, is now expected to delay its launch until 2022.
“Stakeholders must engage in ‘real dialogue’ on gambling advertising”
Stakeholders must engage in a “real dialogue” on gambling advertising rather than work towards a predetermined finding of a need for additional advertising restrictions, writes Björn Fuchs, Chief Digital Officer at Janshen-Hahnraths Group, which holds one of the few Dutch remote gaming licenses.
Gambling advertising is necessary to draw consumers to the regulated offering and, in that sense, serves a clear public health purpose. While annoyance about “too much” or otherwise “grating” gambling advertising might be understandable, it is not an argument related to public health. Mere annoyance should thus take a backseat to more fundamental considerations, Fuchs argues.
How many fines will the Netherlands Gambling Authority issue in 2022?
As part of the process of adopting the 2022 budget for the Ministry of Justice and Security, members of the Permanent Committee for Justice and Security of the Dutch Lower House made an inquiry (question #412) about the number of fines the Netherlands Gambling Authority expects to issue in 2022.
While so far, no answer has been provided, the list of questions provides insight on how the Dutch Lower House will likely monitor the activities of the Netherlands Gambling Authority in the future. Questions #400-411 concern the Dutch Data Protection Authority, a comparable independent administrative body, and inquire, among other things, about the extent to which the latter body has allocated means to deal with current political priorities.
The Dutch gambling regulator will undoubtedly face similar pressures in the future.
Upcoming events
The following events may be of interest to the GiH community.
Get ready for the 2021 Gaming in Germany Conference, which will take place 25 October at the Grand Hyatt Berlin. The event's agenda is now live!
The half-day event Reputation Matters: UK Gambling's Future at Stake, which takes place on 2 November in London, will take an in-depth look at the current and expected regulatory pressure facing the UK gambling industry.
SiGMA Europe has been rescheduled to 16 – 18 November, 2021.
The Betting on Sports America conference and expo has been scheduled for 30 November – 2 December, 2021 and will bring together all the major players in the fast-growing North American sports betting industry.
The World Gaming Executive Summit is returning live on 6 – 8 December, 2021 at the W Hotel, Barcelona.
ICE London and iGB Affiliate London have been scheduled to take place 1 – 3 February, 2022.
Payment service providers quit Dutch unregulated online gambling market
Since the opening of the regulated Dutch online gambling market, several leading payment service providers (PSPs), including Skrill, Neteller, and Trustly, have decided to no longer offer their services to unlicensed gambling operators.
Earlier, popular Dutch payment method iDEAL also ceased servicing unlicensed operators.
The new Dutch Remote Gambling Act provides the Netherlands Gambling Authority with the power to issue binding instructions to payment service providers to cease servicing unlicensed gambling operators. It is unclear, however, whether these PSPs have, in fact, received such injunctions.
While other payment methods remain (including crypto and, apparently Sweden's Brite Payment Group), the withdrawal of Skrill, Neteller, and Trustly from the Dutch unlicensed online gambling market has introduced another hurdle for Dutch consumers looking to make use of unlicensed online gambling offerings.
Other news
Australian slot machine manufacturer Aristocrat has agreed to acquire Playtech in a deal worth approximately €3.2bn on an enterprise value basis.
Entain has extended its deadline for DraftKings to make an official offer to buy the company, to 16 November 2021.
The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) reported 65 cases of suspicious betting in Q3 2021.
Free bets will be banned in Ireland as part of a landmark gambling legislation overhaul in the country.
The UK Gambling Commission has received a total of four applications for the Fourth National Lottery license.