Gaming in Holland recap

Gaming in Holland recap

On the 8^th of June 2023 the annual Gaming in Holland conference took place. During this conference, which was held in Amsterdam, multiple experts held presentations on the Gaming and gambling market. The experts included our very own Justin Franssen, Frank Tolboom and Alan Littler to represent our law firm. The conference contained an elaborate day-program, which resulted in a day filled with  interesting conversation, networking and sociability.

Frank Tolboom went into depth with the moderator, Karel Ornstein, regarding possibilities regarding privatizing current State-owned gambling providers. These providers include, among others, the National Lottery and Holland Casino. Multiple factors have led to the reincarnation of this discussion, such as the Ministry’s evaluation of State-owned companies that takes place every 7 years. Frank elaborated on the criteria that are required to fully privatize the gaming and gambling market, for which legality and proportionality are of highest importance. According to Frank we are dependent on the results of an upcoming study, which will be initiated at the end of 2023.

Alan Littler spoke about the upcoming ban on targeted advertising. Alan elaborated on what the ban exactly entails and more specifically on what does not fall under the scope of the ban on targeted advertising. Not only does the ban include targeted advertising, it also includes sponsoring. The timeframe for this ban is dependent on when the contracts for these sponsorships are due. A webinar about the announced ban on targeted advertising can be viewed here. After this, Justin Franssen spoke with Peter-Paul de Goeij and Björn Fuchs about ‘Thriving in a post-marketing iGaming landscape’.

René Jansen, the chair of the Dutch Gambling Authority, was also present to elaborate on certain topics. He specifically elaborated on the aforementioned ban on untargeted advertising. He explicated that the Dutch Gambling Authority is aware of any questions the ban on untargeted advertising might raise, and that the priority does not lie with strict enforcement. With this, René also expressed a certain trust regarding the gambling providers as to not search for and/or cross boundaries. More so, he encourages providers to make sure their data storage is sufficiently organized, to guarantee a safe gambling market together. The Dutch Gaming Authority, he continued, has also done research regarding the way providers interpret the duty of care. He urges to continue using common sense in answering to the duty of care. Individual providers carry responsibility to uphold trust in the gaming and gambling sector together, he explains occluding his plea.