Dutch government mulls extension of ‘cooling off’ period
Minister Sander Dekker says cooling off period “must have an effect” on sanctioned operators
The Dutch government may extend the ‘cooling off’ period in which previously sanctioned operators may not enter the Dutch market, in a bid to ensure non-sanctioned firms get an advantage.
In a consultation meeting in the Dutch House of Representatives yesterday, Minister of Justice and Security Sander Dekker conceded the delays in the launching of the market had forced a rethink of the cooling off period.
Specifically, the delay would mean sanctioned operators would be able to go live at the same time as non-sanctioned operators in the middle of 2021.
This is against the Dutch government’s stated ambition of a two-tiered Dutch market of local/unsanctioned operators in an initial wave and and sanctioned operators in a later wave.
In the consultation meeting, Dekker said the cooling off period “must have an effect” and he would discuss it further with the regulator.
Dutch gaming layer Frank Tolboom told EGR: “If and how the cooling off period will change depends on motions which can be submitted in the next few weeks, following-up on yesterday’s debate.”
Gaming In Holland’s Willem Van Oort added: “While it is too early to speculate at this point what the outcome of these discussion with the regulator will be, it should be noted that there exists a widespread (if implicit) political desire to give domestic operators a leg-up in the Dutch online gambling market.”
In addition to discussing the cooling off period, Dekker reaffirmed his support for not imposing advertising restrictions on operators due to concerns about “serious negative effects” on channelisation.
The government confirmed that a future debate would take place in which these issues will be discussed further at a plenary session of the House of Representatives, giving time for future parliamentary motions to be tabled.
Operators including GVC, Betsson, LeoVegas, The Stars Group, William Hill and Kindred Group have all received fines from the KSA over the last two years under its so-called prioritisation criteria.
The KSA recently confirmed the widening of the criteria to include the use of “functional age verification software” to its prioritisation criteria, effective from 1 January 2020.