Dutch gov’t clarifies timeline regarding online gambling law reform ...and more!

Dutch gov't income from gambling taxes reaches €1bn

The Dutch government collected a record €1bn in gambling taxes in 2024, up from €949m in 2023.

Online gambling accounted for approximately €400m of last year's gambling tax revenue.

Gambling tax revenues increased sharply following the opening of the regulated online gambling market in October 2021. In that year, total gambling tax income amounted to €343m, compared to €572m pre-Covid (2019).

Netherlands Gambling Authority warns Lucky 7 Casino over customer service violations

The Netherlands Gambling Authority has warned licensee Noord Zuid Alliantie B.V., owner of the Lucky 7 Casino brand, after it was found that no one was answering customer service calls. Instead, an English-language tape would play stating that no-one was available right now.

Netherlands-licensed remote operators are legally required to offer 24/7 access to a Dutch-speaking customer service.

After the Gambling Authority raised this issue with Noord Zuid Alliantie, the operator has solved the problems regarding accessibility and language options.

Additionally, the regulator also received reports of players who had self-excluded themselves from the site being able to continue to play, as well as reports of players receiving pop-ups prompting additional deposits.

The Netherlands Gambling Authority said it would continue to monitor developments at Lucky 7 Casino.

Holland Casino appoints new director for Holland Casino Online

Starting this month, Holland Casino Director Guest & Product Development, Jan Paul van Heemskerck van Beest will also be responsible for Holland Casino Online.

The move follows a reorganization at Holland Casino's head office and the departure of Digital Transformation Director, Jeroen Verkroost. Besides overseeing Holland Casino Online, Verkroost was also responsible for leading the IT department. The latter task will be taken over by Pieter Boers, Director Casino Technology & Operations Support.

QMRA warns Finnish legislators over affiliate marketing ban

The Quality Mark Responsible Affiliates (QMRA) has issued a report warning Finnish legislators over the potential impact of the country's proposed affiliate marketing ban.

The Finnish Government's proposal HE 16/2025 VP seeks to ban affiliate marketing in its newly regulated online gambling market because of misinformation, regulatory uncertainty, consumer protection and tax avoidance.

QMRA research, however, suggests banning affiliate marketing in Finland’s online gambling sector could result in increased illegal gambling activity. Evidence from the Netherlands suggests that restricting SEO affiliates results in unlicensed operators dominating search results.

Since regulating online gambling in 2021, the Netherlands has dealt with unlicensed platforms using SEO and Google Ads to appeal to certain groups of players, including minors and self-excluded individuals. This could lead to more illegal sites which often lack consumer protections, as they do not enforce responsible gambling measures.

Upcoming events

Leaders in Compliance Conference

Don't miss the Leaders in Compliance Conference, which will take place May 8-9, 2025, at the Hilton Frankfurt Airport Hotel.

With compliance becoming ever more important in regulated markets, a high-level, Europe-focused event specifically dedicated to compliance-related topics is long overdue.

Confirmed speakers include Dr. Birgit Bosch, Director of Group Compliance at Tipico; Ewout Keuleers, General Counsel at Unibet; and Corinne Valletta, General Counsel Betsson Operations.

Early bird registration is now open. Don't miss it! Register today: https://bit.ly/LiC2025

Gaming in Holland Conference

As always, the Gaming in Holland Conference returns to Amsterdam this summer. The 2025 edition of his event will take place June 5, 2025, at the KIT Royal Tropical Institute.

This year's speakers include Arjan Blok, CEO of Nederlandse Loterij; Renske Fikkers, Head of Market Supervision at the Netherlands Gambling Authority; Justin Franssen, Partner at Franssen Tolboom Advocaten; and Josh Hodgson, COO of H2 Gambling Capital.

With (online) gambling back on the political agenda, there will be plenty to discuss!

Early bird registration is now open. Don't miss it! Register today: https://bit.ly/GiHC2025.

Dutch Online Casino of the Year Awards

Voting for the Dutch Online Casino of the Year Awards opens May 1, 2025.

The award ceremony takes place during the Gaming in Holland networking drinks, part of the program of the annual Gaming in Holland Conference on June 5, 2025.

GiH Conference visitors are all cordially invited to attend the festivities!

Other events

• On April 8, the Digital Wellness Center will host a webinar on the use of microbreaks in both player protection and player retention. The webinar will discuss the results of an RG trial conducted in cooperation with Netherlands-facing affiliate Casino.nl.

• SBC Summit Malta, the newly rebranded continuation to CasinoBeats Summit, will take place June 10-12, 2025, at the InterContinental in St Julian’s.

• iGB L!ve returns to ExCel London on July 2-3, 2025. Registration is now open!

Dutch gov’t clarifies timeline regarding online gambling law reform

State Secretary for Legal Protection, Teun Struycken clarified the government's plans to revise the Dutch Remote Gambling Act during last week's debate by the Permanent Committee for Justice and Security on gambling policy.

The government proposes to strengthen consumer and player protection by further restricting advertising opportunities, by increasing the minimum age for high-risk games of chance from 18 to 21, and by giving additional enforcement powers to the Netherlands Gambling Authority.

The government is furthermore considering the introduction of cross-operator deposit limits, although it is currently unclear whether this would require a change in primary legislation.

Regarding the proposed revision of the Remote Gambling Act, Struycken proposed the following timeline:

• 2025: pre-legislation studies and surveys

• 2026: start of the legislative process

• 2026: public consultation of the new legislation

Based on this timeline, a parliamentary vote on the new legislation could only happen in late 2026 at the very earliest, although a later date, i.e., 2027, would appear more likely.

This means that the new legislation would not enter into force before 2027 or 2028.

Naturally, the new legislative proposals will be an important topic of discussion at our upcoming Gaming in Holland Conference, which will take place on June 5 in Amsterdam.

Don't miss this event if you would like to know more!