GiH Newsletter: KSA Chair: “Without legal market, there would be no duty of care at all” ...and more!

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

Holland Casino to leave downtown Groningen

Following the destructive 2017 fire that burned down Holland Casino's venue in downtown Groningen City, the casino operator quickly decided to rebuild at a new location. After operating from temporary premises for several years, Holland Casino has now finally announced the location where it intends to rebuild its Groningen venue.

The new venue will be built along the A7 motorway at Business Par Ter Borch in the municipality of Tynaarlo, just west of Groningen City's municipal borders.

Holland Casino CEO Petra D. commented: "We are very pleased that, at long last, a final decision has been reached. This is not only good news for our guests, but also for our employees who will soon be able to welcome guests in the best possible way and to offer the hospitality that is expected of us."

The new venue is scheduled to open in 2027.

Sanne Muijser to leave VAN Kansspelen

Sanne Muijser , who has served as the General Secretary of trade association Brancheorganisatie VAN Kansspelen for over ten years, will leave the organization on October 1. VAN Kansspelen represents the interests of land-based slot machine operators in the Netherlands.

The move follows the appointment, earlier this year, of Henry Meijdam and Daan Keij as the trade association's new chair and director, respectively.

Muijser will take up the position of Director at the Royal Booksellers Union.

“The past ten years have flown by,” said Muijser. “As a trade organization, we dealt with the introduction of the Remote Gambling Act, which also had a great influence on the slot machine sector.

“The Covid years also demonstrated the resilience of the sector. I look back on a pleasant and dynamic period and would like to thank everyone within and outside the association for their collaboration.”

“The Dutch online market is very clear”

In an interview with iGaming Expert , David Carrion , COO Interactive at GAMING1 , extensively praised Dutch online gambling regulations. Gaming1 is the technology partner of Netherlands-licensed online operators Circus and 777.

Carrion was especially positive about the level playing field offered by the Dutch regulatory framework and positively contrasted the Dutch market conditions with those of other European jurisdictions:

“I think the Netherlands is going to be a majorly important market in the next few years. If you look at what’s happening in Europe, the Dutch market brings with it significant growth opportunities for companies like ours.

“The German market is very complicated in terms of regulations, there’s been multiple attempts to regulate the market, but none have yet come to fruition. Finland, Norway and Sweden are all markets where there are opportunities, but it isn’t quite as clear cut as other European gaming jurisdictions.

“But the Dutch market is very clear. You can enter the market and compete, as long as you fulfil the requirements. This may be a bold prediction, but I think it’s going to be a €3bn market in the next two or three years – it’s already passed the €1bn market so it’s growing rapidly.”

The full interview is available here.

Upcoming events

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

·??????? The 2023 Gaming in Germany Conference has been scheduled to take place October 16, 2023, in Berlin. Benjamin Schwanke, Co-Chair of Germany federal gambling regulator, GGL, will be the event's keynote speaker.

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KSA Chair: “Without legal market, there would be no duty of care at all”

Following an investigation of the Netherlands Gambling Authority that found inconsistencies, as well as certain shortcomings in the implementation of duty of care measures by Netherlands-licensed online operators, the regulator's chair, René Jansen said that these failings did not mean that market legalization had failed:

“Without a legal market, there would be no duty of care at all. We would never have had the comprehensive look behind the scenes that operators have now given us. When looking at ?????????? illegal operators, we often saw that basic requirements, such as proper identity and age verification checks, were entirely absent.

“Moreover, we have found that there are also things that are going very well when it comes to implementing duty of care provisions. For instance, many operators apply stricter limits for young adults under 24. The fact that several operators voluntarily provide this vulnerable group with extra protections is something that the Netherlands Gambling Authority applauds and ?????????? would like to see implemented by all licensed operators.

“So yes, from a player protection perspective, a legal market is preferable to the completely unregulated ‘wild west’ we would otherwise have to deal with. I am under no illusion that without a legal market there would be no gambling, because gambling is as ancient as humanity itself.

Even so, Jansen called on licensed operators to raise the bar even further.

Other news

Holland Casino has appointed Cindy Kremers and Alfred Levi on its supervisory board.

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has called on the Norwegian government to transition from a monopoly system to a licensing model for online gambling.

German gambling regulator GGL has fined online casino Red Rhino €50,000 for offering gambling to German customers without a license.

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