Dutch National Rapporteur issues 22 recommendations to reform online gambling
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In September 2023, the Netherlands National Rapporteur on Addictions (NRA), which studies addiction problems in the nation and advises the Dutch government on preventative measures, submitted 22 recommendations to the Ministry of Justice on how to limit and prevent harm to citizens related to online gambling.
Scope of the opinion
According to the NRA, there is a clear relationship between gambling and suicides, debt problems, gloom, depression, and alcohol use. The opinion focuses on the entire chain: from universal prevention to selective and indicated prevention, early identification and guidance to and accessibility of help and care, and the development of quality care.
Selective prevention concerns populations at increased risk for gambling addiction such as young people, and indicated prevention concerns individuals addicted to gambling. Regarding advertising and marketing, the opinion includes recommendations that reduce risk, interventions that target the individual and their loved ones, and measures to reduce personal and societal harm.
Recommendations
The 22 recommendations are categorised into ten distinct areas and outline a multifaceted approach to tackling gambling-related harm. When formulating the recommendations, the NRA was inspired by other European countries such as Belgium, Germany and Italy. The notable recommendations include:
- Enhancing cooperation between operators and healthcare providers.
- Creating a “structured, high-quality monitoring system” to better track online gaming and gambling-related harm.
- Establishing an addiction prevention policy guided by independent experts.
- Imposing operator liability if they fail in their duty of care.
- Adopting player limits.
- Further curbing advertising and marketing with advertising exposure limited to people actively seeking gambling information but raising the possibility of a total ban.
- Reviewing “high-risk games” such as games with a short time between wager and result, and games in which the player has no influence, such as fruit machines. The report suggests restricting or banning these games.
Addiction prevention policy
The NRA calls for a binding duty of care guideline. Currently, every online gambling company fulfils its statutory duty of care in its own way. According to the NRA, this is undesirable. In order to achieve an effective and uniform interpretation of the duty of care, a binding guideline is needed, which should indicate what behaviour companies should watch for in gamblers and specify when and how they should intervene. If companies do not comply with these rules, they should be liable for damages and face the loss of their licences.
Player limits
The NRA supports the implementation of a “mandatory overreaching playing limits” system, similar to the one in effect in Germany. According to the NRA, the implementation of such a system is difficult, but its success in Germany shows that it can be achieved. Ultimately, the system seeks to introduce limits for online gambling, including time limits, deposit limits, loss of money limits and balance limits. The report emphasises the effective implementation of this system requires all legal gambling providers to share information and ensure that users are not spending more time and money than the pre-set maximum limits. The only category that would have a different allowance would be young adults who could be subjected to stricter measures.
Conclusion
In a letter to parliament, the minister said that a response to the NRA report will be forthcoming before the end of 2023.
Currently, Dutch citizens and politicians are highly critical of online gambling. Therefore, it is likely that the Dutch government will follow one or more of the recommendations, regardless of the consequences these recommendations will have for companies offering online gambling in the Netherlands.
