Finally, some movement with respect to the introduction of the Dutch Remote Gaming Act (‘RGA’).

Just before the summer break, the Minister of Legal Protection already announced that he wanted speed things up. He put his money where his mouth is, as last week, the Remote Gaming Decree (‘RGD’) was published for public consultation.

The draft RGD includes, other things, the following topics:

• Licenses can be granted with respect to casino games (against other players or operators), and (sports and horse racing) betting. No licenses will be granted with respect to the organization  of lotteries.
• Licenses will be granted for a maximum period of 5 years
• Licenses will be granted within 6 months after application (which can be extended with another period of 6 months).
• Main rule is that the operator needs to be based within the EU; however, under strict circumstances licenses may also be granted to operators outside the EU;
• Strict rules apply with respect to the reliability of the holder of the license, the UBOs, the decision makers and the direct and indirect financiers, such based on their intentions, acts and behaviour in the past. More in particular, the following will be taken into account:
  • Gaming violations in the Netherlands and other jurisdictions;
  • Financial compliance with respect to sanctions and gaming tax;
  • Criminal, financial, tax or compliance records.
• The license-holder must have a representative in the Netherlands in order to be able to comply with rules regarding de prevention of gambling addiction
• Specific rules apply with respect to the operator’s landing page (e.g. only licensed games can be shown)
• A separate administration must be in place with respect to the games that are licensed
• An integrity policy must be in place  (including policies, proceedings and cooperation with other organizations to avoid match fixing)
• A number of betting activities have been excluded from licenses, e.g. bets regarding an outcome that is negative or that can easily be manipulated (e.g. red cards) and bets regarding youth matches.
• Prior to the acceptance of a new player the Central Register Gaming Exclusion be checked
• A new player must always indicate the limits of its play behaviour, i.e. max. play limit, max. deposit, etc. and the operator must act accordingly.
• Payment transaction between players and operator can only take place through a gaming account.
• Further guidelines may come with respect to the appointment of an inspection authority regarding the games operated;
• Advertising may not be addressed to people below the age of 24.

Operators and other stakeholders can provide their views before 6 November 2018.