Dutch gaming authority, Kansspelautoriteit, has published two new sets of guidelines aimed at licence applicants, educating on terms of the licensing process as well as the prevention of money laundering and financing of criminal activities through gambling verticals.
The Ksa emphasises that in order to secure the green-light to proceed onto the upcoming Dutch online market applicants must have refrained from offering online games of chance, specifically aimed at consumers in the Netherlands, during the two years prior to the date of submission.
Making online gambling legal under a series of strict conditions, the ‘motion postema,’ adopted by the Dutch Senate earlier in the year, is to be taken into account.
This states: “In this motion, the government is requested to ensure that licensing for the provision of remote games of chance is only given to parties who have not focused on the Dutch market for an unbroken period of at least two years.”
This draft policy rule will form part of a broader policy for testing the reliability of applicants, with applicants to also be subjected to a ‘bibob test’ which is intended to determine the integrity of the prospective licensee.
Setting further requirements regarding addiction prevention, finances and business operations, the draft policy rule also stipulates a number of extra criteria to be considered when applying for an online gambling licence, which if applicable will result in rejection. These include:
- Was there a website with the .nl extension?
- Did the provider use the Dutch language?
- Did the provider use means of payment that are used exclusively or largely by Dutch people?
- Has the provider advertised on TV, radio or in print media, aimed at the Dutch market?
- Was one or more domain names used for the offer with typical concepts referring to the Netherlands in combination with gambling designations?
- Did the website/s on which the games of chance were offered contain one or more characteristics from which a focus on the Netherlands can be derived?
Striving to create a safe, controlled range of online gambling, the Ksa has also put forth guidelines to gambling stakeholders regarding the prevention of money laundering and financing of criminal activities.
In its statement the authority commented: “Part of this is in any case the verification of the identity of the player. The purpose of the investigation is also to control the player and his or her transactions. If these do not match the player’s ‘risk profile’, the gambling provider must conduct further investigation.”
