Flutter predicts Dutch temporary market withdrawal to cost £50m, expects to go live in Q3 2022
The withdrawal from the Dutch online market will cost Flutter Entertainment an estimated £50m, the company said in its Q3 trading update:
“Following the recent announcement from the Netherlands Gambling Authority, we suspended our Dutch operations on 1 October. We estimate that this temporary closure will cost the Group £10m in EBITDA in 2021 and approximately £40m in 2022. This assumes we recommence trading in Q3 2022 and that our Dutch operations break even in H2 next year as we invest to re-engage customers.”
In other words, Flutter expects to be able to apply for a Dutch remote license in Q1 2022.
Dutch affiliate quality label expands membership
Affiliate marketing quality label “Keurmerk Verantwoorde Affiliates” (KVA), which launched in September with founding members CasinoNieuws, Meneer Casino, and Onetime, has significantly expanded its membership.
Since then, twelve new members have joined the quality assurance organization.
KVA is administered and facilitated by XY Legal Solutions and its founder Steven Vrolijk.
In order to receive the KVA certification, affiliates must:
Only link to licensed offerings
Use social media channels in a responsible manner, for instance by employing age verification tools whenever possible
Only show responsible and balanced advertising
Prevent the publication of inaccurate information
Offer responsible gambling tips and include referrals to problem gambling prevention resources
Upcoming events
The following events may be of interest to the GiH community.
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.
Minister explains CRUKS malfunction following online market opening
Minister for Legal Protection Sander Dekker has answered parliamentary questions regarding the malfunctioning of the country's national exclusion register (CRUKS), following the opening of the regulated online market.
According to Dekker, the database connections between licensed operators and CRUKS could not be tested in a live environment because, prior to October 1, there existed no legal basis to exchange social security (BSN) numbers between these parties.
As a result, unanticipated technical problems emerged when the switch took place from the test environment to the live environment.
Dekker also said that the Netherlands Gambling Authority had allowed licensed operators to go live before all technical issues with CRUKS were solved in order to prevent a situation in which Dutch consumers would only be able to access black market operators during the weekend that the regulated offering was finally expected to go live. As most operators subject to the cooling-off period had previously decided to withdraw from the Dutch market, only so-called “cowboy operators” would then remain available, Dekker added.
Other news
Failure to report gambling activities and associated winnings is cause for termination of social assistance benefits, a Dutch Appeals court ruled.
Green Jade Games chairman and former Mr Green CEO Jesper Kärrbrinkadmits the gambling industry went overboard with aggressive advertising in Sweden which has led to an inevitable backlash.
Denmark has announced plans for an ID card for all land-based sports betting transactions to reduce the risk of money laundering and match-fixing.
LeoVegas has been reprimanded by the Danish regulator over money laundering violations.
Sportradar has won the tender to exclusively distribute UEFA data for betting purposes across competitions including the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA European Championships.
Betway has signed a multi-year renewal of its betting partnership with Belgium's cup football competition.