Thank you for attending the Gaming in Holland Lunch @ICE!
As always, our traditional Gaming in Holland Lunch @ICE London drew representatives from almost every major stakeholder in the Dutch gambling market.
Peter-Paul de Goeij, Managing Director of the Netherlands Gambling Association, delivered a few brief remarks on the latest regulatory developments (more on that below).
Please click here to view a photo stream of the event.
If you were there, we hope you enjoyed the Gaming in Holland Lunch as much as we did. If you missed it, we hope to welcome you next year!
New regulatory timelines revealed at 19th KKF Annual Gaming Industry Event
Last week, the 19th Kallf Katz & Franssen/IMGL Annual Gaming Industry Event took place at the Royal Industrieele Groote Club in the heart of Amsterdam.
The event featured presentations by René Jansen, Chair of the Netherlands Gambling Authority, and Fedor Meerts, Head of Department at the Ministry of Justice & Security.
Naturally, Gaming in Holland was there to report on the proceedings.
Netherlands Gambling Authority Chair, René Jansen revealed that the regulator's recently announced new responsible gambling are currently scheduled to (largely) enter into force from May 1.
Fedor Meerts further revealed the timeline for introducing the (separate) player protection rules proposed by the Ministry of Justice later this month.
For more detailed information (and an impression of the event), please see the video below.
VIDEO | GiH Webinar report: Compliance products for the Dutch market
Just before the Christmas break, both the Netherlands Gambling Authority and the Ministry of Justice and Security announced new player protection and AML rules for licensed gambling operators.
Among other things, these new regulations require almost immediate intervention after detecting problematic gambling behavior and affordability checks if players spend more than €700 in one month (or €300 in the case of young adults).
In this webinar, we discussed products and solutions that can assist licensed operators in remaining compliant with the new RG, AML, and marketing rules.
The webinar featured the following individual presentations:
Martijn de Boer, Founder of CDDN – KYC solutions
Rasmus Kjaergaard, CEO of Mindway AI – RG solutions
Mario Chamorro, Manager at MDF Partners – market(ing) intelligence
Nikolas Lotz, COO of Chevron Group – general compliance solutions
Please find the full recording of the webinar below.
Holland Casino Venlo voted “Best Overall Casino” at European Casino Awards
Holland Casino's Venlo venue has been voted “Best Overall Casino” at the 2024 European Casino Awards.
In addition, Holland Casino Utrecht won the Sustainability Initiative Award, and Holland Casino employee Michael Vanenburg was awarded the Community Engagement Award for his charitable fundraising efforts.
Holland Casino CEO Petra de Ruiter commented: “Our Venlo venue is a true jewel. Both the venue's exterior and interior shine. Every little detail has been thought through to provide the most sustainability and best guest experience. Our employees complete the entirety of this experience, and I am therefore very proud of all employees that we succeeded in winning this award."
Netherlands Gambling Authority introduces stricter measures on loss-based bonuses
Following a market-wide investigation into prohibited cashback bonuses, the Netherlands Gambling Authority has clarified its terminology regarding loss-based bonuses and issued stricter measures to prevent such measures from being offered to Dutch consumers.
In response to the investigation's findings, the KSA issued a formal warning to one license holder for offering prohibited cashback bonuses. Two other license holders received a letter from the KSA, clarifying the regulator's position on various bonus structures, including those compensating for losses in ways other than direct cashback.
Kindred appoints Nils Nils Andén as permanent CEO
Kindred Group’s Board of Directors has decided to appoint Nils Andén as permanent CEO with immediate effect after holding the interim position from May 2023.
“I am grateful and proud to have received the Board’s confidence to continue in the role as CEO of Kindred Group. We have a great team who are working hard to deliver on an exciting strategy that will strengthen Kindred’s position in locally regulated markets,” said Nils Andén after being confirmed as Kindred Group's new permanent CEO.
Kindred also released its annual report, which revealed strong growth in the Netherlands, including a 23% increase in active customers and a 31% increase in online casino revenue, offset by a slight decrease in betting revenue.
Allwyn parent company continues ties with Russia's Gazprom
Nearly two years after promising regulators he would sever ties with Russia, Allwyn's parent company, KKCG., owned by Czech entrepreneur Karel Komárek is still in business with Gazprom, The Guardian reports.
Apart from operating the UK National Lottery, Allwyn is widely seen as one of the leading candidates to potentially acquire Nederlandse Loterij if Dutch parliament decides to proceed with the operator's proposed privatization.
Upcoming events
The following event(s) may be of interest to the GiH community.
Kindred's annual Sustainable Gambling Conference will be held March 20, 2024, at the Kia Oval in London.
The 2024 Casino Operations Summit, which focuses on land-based casino operations, will take place April 23-25 in Amsterdam.
Parliamentary motion for fixed cross-operator deposit limits will have majority support in Dutch Lower House
Dutch MP Mirjam Bikker has announced that she will submit a parliamentary motion that calls on the Dutch government to introduce fixed cross-operator deposit limits.
Contrary to draft proposals that were previously announced by the Ministry of Justice & Security, the proposed motion would not allow for the deposit limits to be increased following an affordability check.
Although the motion has not yet been submitted, political groups supporting a narrow majority of the Dutch Lower House have already expressed their support.
The motion also calls on the government to introduce these fixed cross-operator deposit limits before the summer.
As such limits would almost certainly require new legislation, this timeline appears entirely impossible.
Although it is customary for the government to follow motions adopted by a majority in either house of parliament, these are formally non-binding.
Other news
Current Holland Casino CEO, Petra de Ruiter has joined the board of the European Casino Association, with former Holland Casino CEO, Erwin van Lambaart retaining his chairmanship.
Nominations for the 2024 Gambling Compliance Awards will open soon!
The Curaçao Gaming Control Board has issued its first licenses under the country’s new regulatory regime.
Evolution Gaming has agreed a deal to acquire live casino service provider LiveSpins for €5m.
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