Dutch regulated market launch pushed back to October 2021

The long-awaited rollout of the Dutch igaming market has been pushed back to October 2021, as confirmed by Dutch Minister of Justice and Security Sander Dekker. In a letter to the Dutch parliament, the MP revealed the passage of the Remote Gaming Act into law has been postponed by a further month from March 2021 to April 2021. Dutch law states that the online gambling market can only go live a minimum of six months after legislation comes into force. Under the initial timeframe, the act should have passed into law in January, with the market going live in July. However, in September 2020, the government instituted a two-month delay, citing the impact of Covid-19 on the Dutch legal process. “This was considered feasible because all parties involved already know a lot about the content of legislation and secondary legislation,” Dekker wrote. However, the minister has now acknowledged the need for a fresh delay in order to get the moving parts of the market functioning correctly. “It is clear that the public interests of the games of chance policy are best served by a rapid entry into force,” he explained. “Although the implementation is being tackled energetically by all involved, it is now clear that a careful implementation will require a little more time,” he added. In addition to confirming the revised timeframe, Dekker revealed the Dutch cooling-off period would be extended by a “very limited proportional period”, insisting this would not compromise channelisation to the licensed market. In tandem, a requirement for Dutch-licensed operators to implement the CRUKS self-exclusion scheme has likewise been pushed back to October 2021. The Dutch Gambling Authority (KSA) has been preparing the initial groundwork for the new market, having released a schedule of events and the first draft policy rules in November. It has also launched a new department to deal with the potential influx of applications from operators once the licensing process opens. Discussing the role of the KSA and its interaction with other regulators, Dekker revealed the regulator would be able to share information with any international regulator with which it has previously signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). The minister also dismissed claims that the opening of the Dutch market to international firms would result in the decline of revenues for the country’s existing lottery operators. “The emergence of online gambling may play a role, but it is unlikely that there is a causal relationship between the opening up of the online gambling market and the declines in lottery revenues,” Dekker wrote. To allay any potential concerns over this issue, the ministry has committed to an investigation and will deliver its report in the spring.