GiH Newsletter: Dutch MPs seek to impose additional costs on gambling operators ...and more!

Especially selected for you: the latest in Dutch and international gaming news.

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Netherlands Gambling Authority reports enforcement successes

The Netherlands’ ban on role models in gambling advertising has been “well observed,” the Dutch regulator has said.

From July 1, licensed operators have been prohibited from featuring role models (celebrities, athletes) in advertisements. Since then, two operators received a warning for using voice recordings of role models in a TV commercial and a podcast. No other violations have been observed.

In addition, two unlicensed operators, LCS Ltd and M.K.C Ltd, withdrew from the Dutch market after having been issued conditional penalty payments by the Dutch regulator.

Kindred CEO: “We are ready to accept short-term revenue impact in exchange for long-term sustainability”

Yesterday, Kindred's 2022 Sustainable Gambling Conference took place at the Amsterdam Arena, home stadium of AFC Ajax. A large number of stakeholders, including operators, responsible gaming experts, scientists, and regulators, gathered to discuss various approaches to making gambling safer.

Topics included product risk, sustainable sponsoring, and single-customer view – the ability to track problematic payer behavior across multiple operators.

During the event, Gaming in Holland spoke with Kindred CEO Henrik Tjärnström and the company's Chief Commercial Officer Anne-Jaap Snijders.

Tjärnström stressed the need for long-term sustainability and said that Kindred was willing to accept the short-term revenue impact that would be necessary to move toward a business model that would offer long-term sustainability to both operator and players.

Asked specifically about the operator's target to achieve zero percent revenue from harmful gambling by the end of 2023, Tjärnström said:

“What is important is that we continue to invest in our journey toward zero. We have gone from 5% revenue from harmful gambling at the end of 2021 to 3% now. Our top priority is to maintain this direction of movement.”

CCO Anne-Jaap Snijders further explained that the operator's problem gambling early detection systems were already quite successful in flagging problematic behavior and that 85% of flagged players changed their behavior following an intervention by the operator.

For the remaining 15%, however, more stringent measures, including mandatory exclusions, would be employed, Snijders said.

The full interview, together with a report of the event, will appear in the upcoming Gaming in Holland Magazine.

New GiH Magazine to be published soon: Content proposals welcome!

We are currently preparing the next issue of our print Gaming in Holland Magazine. As our goal is to provide a platform for all industry stakeholders, we are happy to consider proposals for articles or other contributions.

Do you offer an innovative product or service? Have you observed market developments that could be of interest to a wider audience? Would you like to share your professional insights?

If so, please contact our editor at jeroen@gamingin.eu to discuss your proposal and a chance to be featured in our upcoming magazine.

TOTO to launch World Cup marketing campaign focused exclusively on Dutch national side

Nederlandse Loterij's Chief Marketing Officer Arno de Jong said that the operator's subsidiary TOTO would launch a marketing campaign during the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar: “It is pretty much unavoidable. We offer these bets to our players. It is therefore impracticable to do nothing regarding promotions.”

However, the TOTO's World Cup promotions would focus exclusively on the Dutch national side, rather than the tournament, De Jong added.

Significantly, the Dutch Lower House adopted a motion in September calling on the government to ensure that state-owned companies and their subsidiaries, including TOTO, would not launch marketing campaigns focusing on the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

888 takes revenue hit following Netherlands exit

In a trading update, gambling operator 888 said it expects to post a 7% year-on-year decline in revenue for the third quarter of its 2022 financial year. Revenue is expected to fall across all areas, apart from William Hill retail.

888 said total online revenue across the business was down 10% year-on-year partly as a result of its withdrawal from the Netherlands. Dutch activity represented 6% and 4% of Q3 2021 revenue for 888 and William Hill International respectively. This would suggest that 888 made around £9m from the country in Q3 of 2021 and William Hill brought in about £2m.

Meanwhile, Entain reported that its growth is being hampered by its temporary absence in the Netherlands. If the Dutch market was not factored in, Entain’s revenue would have grown by 4% in Q3 instead of the reported 2%, the company said.

Upcoming events

The following event(s) may be of interest to the GiH community.

·      On November 17, the Juridische Hogeschool Avans & Fontys is organizing a public lecture on sports betting and match-fixing.

Dutch MPs seek to impose additional costs on licensed gambling operators

During a plenary debate on gambling policy, MPs submitted several Parliamentary motions related to gambling policy.

Some of these appear to have little substance, such as a motion calling on the government to propose additional measures to improve gambling addiction prevention, or a separate motion calling on the government to ensure that the Netherlands Gambling Authority will have sufficient enforcement capacity.

However, two other motions could have a more significant impact. One motion calls on the government to significantly increase the levy on licensed operators that is used to fund the Gambling Addiction Prevention Fund.

A second motion, tabled by MP Rudmer Heerema (VVD), calls on the government to forgo the (conditionally) proposed lowering of the gambling tax rate from 29% of GGR to 25% and use these revenues to fund sports instead as a form of compensation for the coming sports sponsorship ban.

Considering the current mood in the Lower House, it is far from inconceivable that both motions will be adopted – even if it is unclear how the proposed additional funding for gambling addiction prevention could actually be spent.

The Lower House will vote on these motions on Tuesday.

During the debate, Minister for Legal Protection, Franc Weerwind also said that he had asked the Council of State for speedy advice on the proposed ban on untargeted online gambling advertising in order to allow this ban to enter into force as soon as possible.

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