We want to inform you about some changes in the Netherlands that are also of importance to our operator clients in Curaçao.
As you might have heard, the Remote Gambling Act has taken effect on April 1, 2021, in the Netherlands. Prior to this date interested parties could apply for a license to enter the Dutch online market.
THE CHANGING DUTCH ONLINE GAMING MARKET
For 10 out of 29 entities that have applied for a license by the Dutch gaming supervisor, Kansspelauthoriteit (KSA), the market for online gaming in the Netherlands will be opening on October 1st, 2021.
In anticipation, KSA has announced that operators who have been accepting players from the Netherlands will need to cease their operations in the Netherlands. KSA also announced that enforcement against unlicensed operators will become more strict and more elaborate under the new legislation, and that they will have more enforcement powers available.
These powers include, but are not limited to:
- Mystery shopping: this enables the KSA to participate in games of chance under a false name;
- Binding instructions to be issued to service providers, including payment service providers, to cease providing services to providers that illegally offer games of chance;
- The international cooperation through memorandums of understanding (MoU’s) with foreign regulators within the EEA in order to share information regarding (potential) unlicensed operators and to cooperate in the area of supervision and enforcement;
- The amount of the fine has risen significantly.
HOW DOES THIS AFFECT YOU?
For the Curaçao based operator, and especially those who are a client of EM Group (eMoore or EMS Management Services), this should not make any change to their operation, since the Netherlands have been a strictly forbidden territory for more than 7 years now.
Nevertheless, we deem it important to inform you on these changes in Dutch legislation. Especially since the Minister for Legal Protection, Minister Dekkers, has agreed to the stricter enforcement towards parties targeting the Dutch online gaming market illegally, because doing so without a Dutch license would constitute unfair competition for those operators with a Dutch online gaming license.
We want to ensure that all our operator clients are complying with the conditions set out in the sublicense, which includes any form of targeting the Dutch market, without a Dutch online gaming license.
Consequently, our Account Managers have reached out to you, or will reach out to you shortly, to discuss the above and to ensure that a geoblock is put in place for all Dutch residents to prevent them from registering and playing games on the licensed domains. It is imperative that such geoblock is in place before October 1st, 2021 and that we have been notified in writing to confirm that this has been done.
APPLYING FOR A DUTCH GAMING LICENSE
If you are interested in applying for a Dutch online gaming license, our colleagues in the Netherlands can provide you with information and assist you with the process. If you want to know more on this, please reach out to your dedicated account manager.
If you have any questions regarding the above, please reach out to your account manager or to our management team in Curaçao, consisting of George Van Zinnicq Bergmann, Lily Kroon and Cindy Drommond.
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