MP's Vote
The Dutch House of Representatives (Kamer) has voted against a proposal to impose a blanket ban on all gambling advertising in the country.
The proposal was put into motion last week, with the Netherlands already having some of the world’s strictest regulations in place over its gambling industry.
A Narrow Margin
The proposal to ban all gambling advertising in the Netherlands was put forward by CDA MP Derk Boswijk. However, the politician was unable to garner enough support for the proposal. It received 70 votes in favour from 150 MPs, which left it six short of the majority needed to move to the next stage.
However, the government did vote to approve ‘overarching playing limits’ being put in place for Dutch players. This was put forward by ChristenUnie leader Mirjam Bikker. ChristenUnie, the country’s leading Christian-democratic party, has been very vocal in its criticism of some of the country’s current gambling regulations.
A Strict Market
The Dutch market, which opened its doors officially in October 2021, has quickly established itself as one of the strictest in Europe. Only last May, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), and the Dutch Government implemented a ban on gambling through major forms of media.
This saw gambling advertising banned in public places, including billboards, cafes, and shops. Further to this, gambling companies will be prohibited from sponsoring clubs and sporting venues as of 2025.
The KSA has also been extremely active when it comes to dishing out fines. The regulator collected a total of 21 financial fines in 2023. The biggest of these was a €6.7 million fine collected from Goldwin Limited when the operator was found to be operating in the Netherlands without a license.
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