Holland Casino online sites no longer to reference land casinos

The Dutch Gaming Authority has published a statement in which it reminded Holland Casino, one of the country’s oldest and most trusted brick-and-mortar properties and current interactive license holders, to make sure that its iGaming websites do not advertise the physical casino locations.

The matter was brought for debate before the Dutch Gaming Authority in October when the regulator established that online gaming websites were also referring to the physical location of Holland Casino properties, which was then discussed by the watchdog.

According to the country’s existing laws, however, this is not permitted. Online license holders may not make any reference to their physical gambling properties or other services extended by them outside of the Internet property they own. Holland Casino has accepted the regulator’s decision and has taken steps to remedy the situation.

Presently, Holland Casino’s physical venues hold a monopoly license to operate in the Netherlands and are not connected to the online casinos in the sense that they operate independently of one another insofar as advertisement and products are concerned.

The Dutch Gaming Authority has been actively involved in the regulation of the industry and provision of oversight in the sector, helping operators steer clear of regulatory infringements. The watchdog has made sure to announce several decisions that have to do with overall consumer safety and how operators approach the matter.

Bonuses in the regulated Dutch market are generally not too popular as they tread a thin line between consumer safety and excessive spending. Therefore, the regulator issued a recent statement with which it prohibited the issuance of cashback offers as bonus inducements buy regulated Dutch operators.

Similarly, the regulator did not hesitate to act against Toto Online, an operator which was slapped with a €400,000 ($420,000) fine a few weeks ago. The authority has also looked into sites that are potentially targeting vulnerable consumers, and specifically affiliates. The KSA also had a period during which it was actively looking for "rogue operators," that is gambling companies that had been active in the Dutch iGaming market prior to October 2021 when the industry was officially launched.

Such operators were forced to leave the market and wait a year before they could legally apply to enter the Netherlands without risking any stronger response from authorities. Presently, Dutch authorities expect for every operator seeking to enter the Netherlands to have a registered office and representative in the country.

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