Dutch Lower House adopts motion to allow professional athletes to feature in advertising for “non-risky” gambling products
Following a cease-and-desist order by the Netherlands Gambling Authority to the Dutch National Lottery (Nederlandse Loterij) over an ad featuring two professional footballers, MP Rudmer Heerema (VVD) submitted a successful motion to the Dutch Lower House calling on the Dutch government to allow professional athletes to feature in advertising for “low-risk” gambling products.
Newly introduced Dutch gambling advertising regulations prohibit the use of role models who are likely to be popular among minors and young adults.
Although the motion does not specify what gambling products are to be considered low risk, lottery games are specifically included in this category. However, it appears likely that no other gambling products will be classified as such.
Not coincidentally, Nederlandse Loterij is a major contributor to Dutch sports.
2021 GiH Conference to focus on business strategy, responsible gambling, and marketing
The 2021 Gaming in Holland Conference has been scheduled to take place on September 28 – only three days before the regulated Dutch online market opens.
Besides a keynote speech by Netherlands Gambling Authority chair René Jansen, the conference will also feature contributions by the CEOs of all major land-based incumbents, who will discuss their vision and strategic approach of the newly regulated online market.
As the Dutch online market will be highly regulated, other major topics will be responsible gambling, sustainable marketing, and other positive contributions the industry can make to prevent a public and political backlash to market liberalization.
Join us in September at the historic Krasnapolsky Hotel in Amsterdam. With vaccination rates rising quickly, we're ready to go back to business!
Register today: https://bit.ly/3vJHiPU
Former Paddy Power CEO expresses concerns over pervasiveness of online gambling
In an interview with Irish broadcaster RTE, Paddy Power co-founder and former CEO Stewart Kenny has severely criticized the online gambling industry for failing to live up to its social responsibility. Kenny resigned his position in 2016 "because [Paddy Power] refused to do anything meaningful on gambling addiction."
Kenny said that the internet era and smartphone technology have "brought gambling into every pocket," turning gambling from a pastime into a "major social problem."
"The internet was the explosion," Kenny noted. "In fairness to the industry, we didn't realise how much it would take over people's lives."
Kenny said that he is particularly concerned about betting companies targeting "highly addictive" online casino games at people who are under 25, and notes that the frontal lobe of the brain, which gives us control over impulses, is not fully developed until a person is 25 or 26.
Young people, who download betting apps to place accumulator bets on a few soccer matches, are then being lured into highly addictive online casino games, Kenny added.
Upcoming events
The following events may be of interest to the GiH community.
Kindred Group will host the 6th annual Sustainable Gambling Conference on 5 October. The event will take place online and is free to attend.
Get ready for the 2021 Gaming in Germany Conference, which has been scheduled for 25 October at the Grand Hyatt Berlin. Save the date!
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 postponed to 1 – 3 February, 2022.
Netherlands Gambling Authority fines Malta-based N1 Interactive for offering illegal gambling services
The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has imposed a €500,000 fine on Malta-based operator N1 Interactive Ltd for illegally offering gambling to Dutch players via its Betchan website.
The Dutch gambling regulator said that an investigation revealed that the Betchan website specifically targeted Dutch consumers.
The fine issued by the KSA was higher than usual, because the Betchan website featured no visible age verification and charged inactivity fees to its players.
It appears likely that Betchan's owner N1 Interactive was specifically targeted by the Dutch regulator because the operator's illegal advertising on YouTube and other social media channels was specifically aimed at minors and young adults. N1 Interactive also reportedly abused the trademarks of licensed land-based operators, such as Holland Casino and Jack's Casino.
In related news, the Dutch regulator also took steps to shut down two illegal lotteries conducted via Instagram.
Other news
Casino Admiral Helmond opens as the 7th Casino Admiral venue in the Netherlands.
Flutter Entertainment has agreed to sell its Oddschecker Global Media subsidiary to sports investment fund Bruin Capital for a deal consideration of £155 million.
GGPoker has announced its entry into the Belgian market, with its regulated ggpoker.be site set to launch on July 31.
Online gaming supplier Aspire Global has introduced its new RTP-improving BuyWin feature in response to the 5.3% turnover tax on casino games in Germany.
At least two matches from Wimbledon 2021 are currently being investigated for potential match-fixing.