This week the Dutch Senate approved the new act that establishes the Dutch Games of Chance Authority (‘Kansspelautoriteit’). The Authority shall take over the responsibilities of the previous regulator (‘College van Toezicht op Kansspelen’) and shall receive a full array of restrictive measures. The Authority shall start on 1 April 2012 and shall be based in The Hague. An important task will be the issuing of new licenses for games of chance. State Secretary Teeven acknowledged in his formal reply to the Senate that there is recent case law forcing him to introduce a more transparent licensing procedure. We expect that the introduction of the new Authority shall put more focus on the enforcement of the games of chance regulation. The Authority shall, for instance, have the authority to impose administrative fines up to an amount of € 750,000. Online service providers of games of chance shall have to anticipate on this new situation.
Licenses for online games of chance
Dutch legislators are currently working on a legislative proposal that shall introduce a licensing sheme for online games of chance. We expect more information on this act in the course of next year. State Secretary Teeven is trying to implement the changes before the end of 2014. The legislative proposal will provide for a system of registration and identification of players, in order to prevent games of change being offered to persons under the age of 18 or to persons with a gambling problem. Providers of online games of change shall have to monitor, analyze and, in case of dangerous gaming behaviour, intervene. Market participants will have to await the legislative proposal to learn the details of the proposed legislation. We shall keep you informed!
