Monthly Archives: February 2019

Dutch online gambling bill vote scheduled for February 19

Dutch online gamblers will have to wait another week to learn if their local politicians intent to approve a locally licensed market.

On Tuesday, the Netherlands’ Senate postponed their scheduled vote on the Remote Gaming Bill by one week to next Tuesday (19). The decision followed further debate on how a new regulated online gambling regime will treat operators who targeted Dutch customers prior to the market’s liberalization.

Last Friday, Justice Minister Sander Dekker submitted written responses to three questions posed to him during last Tuesday’s Senate debate. Gaming In Holland reported that a majority of Senators appeared largely supportive of Dekker’s responses, but enough opposition remained that Dekker was required to offer further specifics on his proposals.

Among the revelations disclosed during this week’s debate is the government’s preference for a two-year ‘cooling off’ period imposed on operators who ‘actively’ targeted Dutch customers under the old regime. ‘Actively’ was previously defined as, among other criteria, offering a Dutch language option and processing payments using the country’s preferred processor iDEAL.

New regulations say kids shouldn’t stumble onto any UK gambling ads

Advertising restrictions continue to pile on for the gambling industry in the U.K. The Committee of Advertising Practice has announced new rules to keep gambling ads away from kids, The Guardian reports.

The two new rules are simple enough. First, gambling ads can’t be on any website or computer game that children are likely to play. With the wealth of demographic data and targeting tools available to advertisers, they are expected to make every best effort to keep their content away from users who are under the age of 18.

Secondly, gambling advertisers can no longer use celebrities in their ads, as well as any person who appears to be under the age of 25. The thinking is using popular or youthful people in ads has an added effect on impressionable young minds.

The rules go into effect at the beginning of April 2019. It will be interesting to see how they apply the new standard, as what content appeals to young audiences could be a matter of debate. YouTube stars, for example, can be quite popular with young teens while offering fairly adult content matter, with gambling sponsorships supporting them.