Dutch Regulator Says Changes to Country’s Gambling Law Are Needed

Dutch regulator KSA calls for further changes to the country’s gaming law.

The Dutch gaming authority, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has been focused on creating a safe and fair gambling market since it was established in 2012. 

Recently, the KSA has been trying hard to get the country’s Senate to pass a new gambling bill since it feels the existing one is out of date and cannot regulate the modern market adequately.

Fighting Windmills

The Dutch gambling watchdog wants to legally regulate online gambling in the coming period, in a move that would see the Netherlands follow the example of the majority of the European countries.

The KSA chairman, Jan Suyver said the Dutch Gaming Authority had been doing its best to fight against illegal gambling, but the lack of proper regulating laws was the biggest obstacle they were facing.

Suyver said the KSA could do little on its own, emphasizing that it needed more support from the country’s legislators.

A couple of months ago, the government instructed the KSA to stop targeting gambling providers operating in the country. Prior to this move, the Dutch high court reached a decision to let various payment service providers process payments from the providers in question without any sort of obstruction.

The gambling regulator claimed that these actions could be qualified as promotional activities under the current Betting and Gaming Act, but it seems the judges of the high court didn’t take the KSA opinion into consideration.

Something Needs To Be Done ASAP

Since there have not been any moves towards the passing of the proposal yet, the KSA is getting impatient.

The new law is expected to introduce clear rules and practices, and to help create a much safer environment especially for problem gamblers.

In addition to this, a special addiction fund would be created, with the central registry for problem gamblers. This would further in protecting players from online frauds, criminal operations, and illegal gambling operators.

The KSA is still waiting for the Senate to make a move and hopefully pass the new gambling bill. Justifying the halt in this process, the Senate stated the reason for this delay was the fact the elections were held last year.