Netherlands plans “innovative” ways to target illegal online gambling

The Netherlands’ gambling regulator is looking for new ways of punishing unauthorized gambling operators after admitting it’s powerless to collect the financial penalties it imposes.

On Monday, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) gaming regulatory body published its draft Monitoring Agenda 2019, which spells out the regulator’s plans for overseeing both legal and illegal operators doing business with Dutch gamblers. Interested parties are invited to submit responses to the draft Agenda by February 11.

The KSA notes that the Dutch Senate has scheduled a debate on the country’s Remote Gambling Bill for February 5, with a possible vote scheduled one week later. The bill, which was passed by the legislature’s lower chamber three years ago, would open up the Dutch market to international online operators for the first time.

Assuming the Bill is approved, the KSA says it will face the new task of vetting new online licensees. The KSA also plans to “counteract the disproportionate increase in advertising” that the new liberalized market is expected to create. Online licensees will be required to “advertise in a reserved way” that takes into account “the special nature of gambling.”