Last chance: Don't miss the 22-26 March Online Gaming Management Masterclass - NL Focus
The upcoming online Masterclass, taught by former Totally Gaming Academy trainers Jason “Wolf” Rosenberg and Itsik Akiva, is a comprehensive online gaming training for Executives and Managers who will be overseeing their organization's expansion into the newly regulated Dutch online market.
The course is specifically designed to help you close the knowledge gap with established online operators. If put into practice, the lessons taught will gain you a competitive advantage and add immediately to your bottom line.
Leading Dutch operators have signed up staff already. Can you afford to stay behind?
Time to sign up is running out. Register today: https://bit.ly/3ce0b5O
Dutch Council of State upholds lotto games monopoly
The Council of State, the Netherlands’ highest administrative law court, has upheld the current monopoly for lotto games.
The lotto monopoly does not violate the principles of “horizontal consistency,” i.e., the notion that similar games should be regulated similarly, the Council of State found. The differences between lotto games and other lotteries (which are not subject to a monopoly) are sufficiently dissimilar to justify a different regulatory regime.
The Council of State further ruled that the Netherlands Gambling Authority was justified in granting the single license to Lotto BV, currently part of Nederlandse Loterij.
Netherlands Gambling Authority and Belgian regulator sign Memorandum of Understanding
The Dutch and Belgian regulators, Kansspelautoriteit and Kansspelcommissie, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to further their already existing cooperation and the exchange of relevant information.
Under the memorandum, the two regulators will share best practices and information regarding enforcement and fraud prevention.
René Jansen, Chairperson of the Netherlands Gambling Authority: “A Memorandum of
Understanding such as this is a good basis for collaboration and a smooth exchange of information. Also, a clear signal is being sent to operators that regulators are joining forces.”
Magali Clavie, Chairperson of the Gambling Commission: “Online gambling is offered across borders. As a result, there is significant need for international cooperation among regulators.”
Portugal’s APAJO and Dutch NOGA team up
The Netherlands Online Gambling Association ("NOGA") and Portugal’s Associação Portuguesa de Apostas e Jogos Online (“APAJO”) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in order to strengthen their cooperation in promoting responsible gaming and market channelization.
The two organizations will also exchange information and share local best practices to help build a healthy, reliable and secure online gambling market in the two countries.
NOGA managing director Peter-Paul de Goeij: “We are excited about our new partnership with APAJO. The Portuguese market is comparable to the Dutch market but lies years ahead with the regulation of the online market. We intend to frequently exchange market information and learn from best practices. Our cooperation with APAJO will benefit us hugely in jointly developing the Dutch online gambling market with all local stakeholders.”
Upcoming events
The following events may be of interest to the GiH community.
Events
The third edition of CasinoBeats Summit will return to Malta from 13 – 15 July, 2021, as part of Summer iGaming Week organized in partnership with KPMG and Gaming Malta.
iGB Live and iGB Affiliate have also been moved to 28 September – 1 October, 2021, but will still take place in Amsterdam!
The 2021 Gaming in Holland Conference has been scheduled for October 1, 2021 – the very day that the regulated Dutch online market finally opens. Netherlands Gambling Authority chairman René Jansen has agreed to deliver the keynote speech. 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.
Webinars and virtual events
Mindway AI has published an on-demand webinar on player profiling and efficient responsible gaming interventions.
The IMGL Virtual Conference, which takes place 8 – 12 March, 2021, will include a session on emerging regulated markets in the Netherlands and Germany.
Don't miss the upcoming Slots Abuse Masterclass. On March 24, Ozric Vondervelden and Ed Dickerson of Ada Lovelace Consultancy will outline how operators can detect and prevent fraud with exploitable slots.
Join the iGaming Next Power Hour every Friday @3pm CET for a short, compact, educational and social weekly digital gathering with some of the brightest and most connected minds of the industry.
Webinar report | Responsible gaming for licensed operators
During yesterday's Gaming in Holland webinar “Responsible gaming for licensed operators: Obligations, implementation, and technical solution,” three expert speakers discussed the responsible gaming obligations (RG) of future licensed online operators in the Dutch market.
The Dutch Remote Gaming Act establishes a wide range of far-reaching RG requirements, including a local RG representative, as well as mandated contacts with addiction care professionals and experiential experts. Last but not least, the Dutch regulatory framework requires that licensed operators implement solutions to closely monitor risky playing behavior.
Sharif Ibrahim, attorney-at-law at Kalff Katz & Franssen, leading responsible gaming expert Pieter Remmers, and Peter Emil Tybirk, AI Developer at Mindway AI discussed the extent of operators' obligations, practical bottlenecks, and technical solutions.
A full recording of the webinar is available here: https://bit.ly/3cfWigU
Other news
In a personal blog post, Netherlands Gambling Authority chairman René Jansen discusses the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on illegal gambling offerings in the Netherlands.
In this video, Holland Casino CEO Erwin van Lambaart and Gaming Innovation Group chief
executive Richard Brown discuss land-based gaming’s digital future.
Staatsloterij has won the “Gouden Loeki" award for best Dutch TV commercial for the third year in a row.
The Supreme Court of Spain has rejected an appeal submitted by media association la Asociación de Medios e Información (AMI), to delay the introduction of restrictions on gambling advertising.
Caesars expects to complete its acquisition of William Hill by 1 April after the bookmaker confirmed all necessary regulatory approvals should be obtained in the coming weeks.
Greentube has brought its content to Poland by teaming up with Totalizator Sportowy’s brand Total Casino.
Atari announced it will be launching an online blockchain casino in May built around “Atari-themed games.”