Dutch licence launch delayed by technical flaw

Operators targeting the newly regulated Dutch market have been made to wait a while longer after the licence application portal suffered a technical fault on day one. The window was due to open at 8am today (1 April), with prospective operators asked to submit their licence applications for a chance to launch in the market when it goes live in six months’ time. However, the Dutch Gambling Authority (KSA) discovered a flaw in the final round of testing to further prolong a process that has already been plagued by delays. The KSA is expected to provide a further update at 1pm. Under the regulator’s initial timeframe, the act should have passed into law in January, with the legalised market going live in July. This was then pushed back to March in September 2020, before being extended by a further month to 1 April, with the KSA citing disruption caused by Covid-19 as the major driver behind the delay. The KSA has launched a new department to deal with the potential influx of applications, the first of which are expected to be received this afternoon. In January, KSA chairman Rene Jansen said: “It is good that there is now a date that everyone can work towards. “Every week, the KSA takes important steps towards a careful and efficient procedure for processing licence applications. “Although we are well on track, an extra month to set up the temporary department that will handle licence applications for online games of chance is welcome. “But the parties that want to apply for a gaming licence also have a lot of work to do,” he added. The KSA is expecting to grant 35 licences to operators targeting the Netherlands.