Final version Remote Gambling Decree published

In February 2019, the Senate adopted the Remote Gambling Act. This Act modernizes the Betting and Gaming Act, so that licences can be issued for the provision of remote games of chance in the Netherlands. The current official line is that (prospective) remote gambling operators will be able to submit applications for remote gambling licences to the Netherlands Gambling Authority as of 1 January 2021 (even though further delay cannot be excluded due to, among other things, the outbreak of the Coronavirus).

For the implementation and further interpretation of the Remote Gambling Act, the general provisions included in this Act have been further elaborated in corresponding secondary regulations. First of all, this was done in the Decree containing provisions for the implementation of the Remote Gambling Act, published on 3 March 2020 (Remote Gambling Decree). This Decree contains concrete rules regarding the (future) provision of remote games of chance under a Dutch licence. Examples include rules with regard to the licence, the licence holder, the organization of the provision of remote games of chance, and the supervision of the licence holder. The Remote Gambling Decree also contains a considerable amount of amendments to the Decree on Recruitment, Advertising and Addiction Prevention of Games of Chance. As the name suggests, this Decree contains requirements for licence holders with regard to their recruitment and advertising activities and their policy on combating addiction to games of chance. The Remote Gambling Decree must still be submitted to the House of Representatives within the framework of a preliminary scrutiny procedure. The expectation is not that this will lead to major changes in the current text, but further delay of the parliamentary debate is lurking (and, by extension, possibly also the entry into force of the Remote Gambling Act).

A second part of the secondary regulations concerns the (Ministerial) Remote Gambling Regulation. Therein, a number of provisions from the Remote Gambling Decree are explained in more detail and amendments to the Regulation on Recruitment, Advertising and Addiction Prevention of Games of Chance are described. On 24 July 2019, the Ministry of Justice and Security published the draft version of the Remote Gambling Regulation and its implementing regulation, which was publicly consulted in the autumn of 2019. The final version has yet to be issued, but it is unlikely that the consultation will result in major changes in the text compared to the draft version.

Interested in the licensing process for remote games of chance? More information can be found on our page Dutch licence for online gambling.

Kalff Katz & Franssen attorneys-at-law is the law firm in the Netherlands focussed on the gaming and gambling sector.