A ban on gambling advertisements before 9pm might come into force in the Netherlands. This was among the motions put forward during a plenary debate held on December 17th, 2019. The suggested amendment was backed by Dutch lawmakers.
Currently, online gambling advertisements cannot be shown during daytime (6AM – 7PM). If the new motion comes into effect, both alcohol and gambling ads will be prohibited between 6am and 9pm. If this proposal gets accepted hundreds of Dutch online casinos will be affected and will have to rethink their marketing strategies.
The gambling ad restriction received representatives' support, but proposals regarding the legal gambling age increase and the treatment of gambling with the same controls applicable to tobacco products were rejected.
The other suggestions representatives discussed were related to the enforcement of a 2-year ban for operators that violated the local iGaming laws. The Netherlands' lawmakers also debated what can be done about improving the communication with the KSA and how they can be keep informed about KSA's efforts towards making online operators are compliant with the local laws.
Other proposals such as prohibition of gambling on certain sports events were not brought to the agenda.
The Netherlands authorities are currently mulling a number of measures over before opening the market for international operators. In 2021 foreign casino companies would be able to apply for a license and serve Dutch players legally.
Earlier in 2019, the KSA imposed several hefty fines on violators, but the worst of all is that these violators will have to wait 2 years before being allowed to apply for a Dutch license.
