Entry into force Remote Gambling Act on 1 April 2021

On Friday 15 January 2021, the Dutch government coalition (commonly referred to as “Rutte III”, being the third Cabinet led by prime minister Mark Rutte) resigned. For many in the gambling industry, the resignation of the government quickly gave rise to the question: What does this mean for the entry into force of the Remote Gambling Act?

The answer was not long in coming. On Tuesday 19 January 2021, outgoing Minister for Legal Protection Dekker sent a letter to the House of Representatives in which he, amongst other matters, discusses the entry into force of the Remote Gambling Act. Dekker indicates that the previous target date of 1 March 2021 will just be missed. In view of the need to ensure a careful implementation of the new Act, it has been decided to postpone the entry into force by one month, until 1 April 2021.

On 4 February 2021, the Royal Decree establishing the entry into force on 1 April 2021 was published in the Bulletin of Acts and Decrees. The Royal Decree also confirmed that the secondary legislation to the Remote Gambling Act will take effect on the same date (with the exception of a few articles). The Dutch licensed market for remote games of chance is now expected to open on 1 October 2021. The final versions of the secondary legislation, the Remote Gambling Decree and the Remote Gambling Regulation were published earlier this week.

For parties who wish to apply for a remote gambling licence it is now mainly a matter of waiting for the final versions of the Remote Gambling Policy Rule and the model licence. The current expectation is that the Netherlands Gambling Authority will publish these documents in February 2021.

On a final note here, in response to the resignation of the government, the House of Representatives had to decide which topics are declared controversial. If a matter is declared as controversial, that matter will not be discussed further by the incumbent House of Representatives. In practical terms, this means that the various letters that are still on the agenda of Parliament will not be discussed for the time being.

Interested in the Dutch licensing procedure for remote games of chance? More information can be found on our website.