Netherlands MPs vote on banning online slots

The Netherlands House of Representatives has voted to ban online gambling advertising and ‘high risk’ online gambling like slots.

The vote took place on Tuesday afternoon (April 16) and a majority vote in favor of the ban was secured. During the voting, 114 motions were submitted and decided on, 14 of which were focused on gambling and 10 were adopted.

Amongst the vote to ban online gambling advertising was the motion on “online gambling with a demonstrably very high risk,” with slots being used as the main example.

Netherlands-based Casino Nieuws says this is because “players have no control over the outcome of the game.” This was backed by MPs, with a majority of 79 votes in favor of the motion.

These bans were originally proposed back in February by the politician Derk Boswijk from the Christian Democratic Appeal party (CDA). His motion was supported by peers Diederik van Dijk, Nicolien van Vroonhoven, Michiel van Nispen, and Mirjam Bikker.

While the House voted in favor of the ban, this will now need to be enshrined in law and approved by the Minister for Legal Protection.

The gambling industry in the Netherlands has seen a shake-up over the last couple of months, with operators potentially being forced to make more changes in the future.

The Dutch Parliament approved a mandate to introduce fixed cross-operator deposit limits back in February and opened a consultation to discuss plans to improve player protection changes.

The motion to enforce ‘overarching playing limits’ was brought by MP Mirjam Bikker. To implement this, an amendment to the decree and potentially the law will be needed. As such, the outline for the overarching limits is expected to be shared at the end of the year.

In other areas of Europe, further crackdowns are taking place. Belgium recently saw an increase in the gambling age to 21 from 18 being approved by the Chamber of Deputies.

In the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has warned operators against targeting minors with gambling advertising ahead of the Euro 2024 tournament that kicks off on June 14.