NL is Ready for iGaming: is EU Ready to Approve the Final Model?
Published September 4, 2020 by Lee R
The long-awaited final model for legislation in the NL has unique guidelines that the EU must approve in order to launch iGaming.
The Netherlands recent ascension to full regulation model now must pass one final hurdle: the EU itself.
Final Proposal
The Netherlands have officially submitted their iGaming model for approval to the European Commission.
The submission of the proposal culminates an 18-month period initiated by the Netherlands' legalization of the Remote Gambling Act, and perfecting of the iGaming model continued in the Dutch Parliament.
Current Phase
With the draft now perfected, stakeholders and interested parties have been given until November 13 to submit comments to the European Commission regarding the guidelines, at which time the EU will make its final determination as to the compatibility of the draft with EU regulatory law.
Procedures Detailed
The Netherlands government had to sort out procedural details including record-keeping, technical standards and reporting requirements prior to the EU submission, and now hopes to launch its inaugural iGaming licensing application process in January.
Addressing Problem Gambling
Specific guidelines regarding procedures and intervention measures for players showing signs of gambling problems will also be addressed directly.
Types of intervention developed and proposed include providing data on unhealthy behaviors and offering advice on treatment resources.
Operators as Support
Operators will be requested to encourage at-risk gamblers to establish time and spending limits and enroll in self-exclusion programs, with a greater blocking mechanism if earlier measures prove unsuccessful.
Transparency Component
Transparency is also required on the part of operators as part of self exclusion with “clear and comprehensible explanation” for any intervention measure taken based on the number of earlier mediations; age; past reactions of the gambler; and any other data used.
Data and Documentation
License-holder documentation is also detailed in the proposal: operators will be required to submit annual registers specifying amount of registered players; rejected actions; complaints; suspected integrity breaches and due diligence checks.
Accountability
Furthermore, the nation’s Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) regulator will request tallies more frequently and require iGaming organisations to record additional customer data including total time and money spent across various verticals as well as any intervention history.
Outlook
The data and advertising guidelines look to be the most rigorous items which the EU will compare to its current guidelines in determining if Netherlands will receive its long-awaited final approval to regulate iGaming.
