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Netherlands Enforces Restrictive New Online Gambling Laws
By Shane Addinall Jun 05, 2024 LegalityThe Netherlands has been slowly transforming its licensed gambling jurisdiction into a restrictive dictatorship that steps on the right of the individual in the name of player safety. Does the chance of more security trump user rights?The Netherlands is an interesting set of contradictions. On one hand, it has always been known as a bastion of human rights, where ‘live and let live’ was the order of the day. However, since the legalisation of online gambling in the region, it has slowly begun to creep towards a more restrictive and prescriptive model of legislation.
It seems wholly contradictory to espouse that people have the right to govern how they live their lives while at the same time placing restrictions on how they spend their time and money, whilst also carving out special restrictions that discriminate based on age.
Is Your Money Truly Yours To Contol?
While one might believe that as an adult of sound mind, you have the right to spend your money however you deem fit, the Dutch government disagrees.
The country’s governing body has adopted a nanny state mentality when it comes to the financial acumen of its people and now requires that online casinos and other gambling providers perform invasive affordability checks.
These checks must be performed at predetermined player spending levels, and if they believe you cannot afford to spend more, you will be blocked from making any further deposits for the entire calendar month.
You Are Too Young To Be Trusted
Not only is the choice to suspend the rights of individuals from using the money they have earned draconic, but the new law also comes with an additional side dish of ageism.
While adults aged 24 years and over will be subjected to immoral affordability checks once they have spent €700 at an online casino, if you are younger than that, you are only allowed to spend €300 before being invested by your government.
This arbitrary age-based limitation of your rights has no basis in your credit history, family socio-economic circumstances, education level or current income bracket. You’re simply too young to be trusted to be smart with money, or even worse, there is a chance you have obtained it criminally.
Big Brother Is Always Watching
The final proof that the government no longer considers itself a servant of the people but rather its overlord is the decision to demand the kind of obnoxious oversight that was once associated with communist regimes.
The Dutch Gambling Authority (Ksa) requires online gambling providers to be “stricter on 'real-time' monitoring” of its players. According to the Ksa, this means that the provider must run 24/7 scans of player engagements such as gameplay and banking and demands they respond to any “suspicion of excessive participation or gambling addiction” within one hour.
The reality of this type of aggressive analysis will be false positives that lead to players who change their behaviours in any way for legitimate reasons being blocked from playing, claiming welcome bonus offers, depositing or even withdrawing in error.
The Internet Is a Very Big Playground
While one would hope that in a free market economy with a democratically elected government, there would be the opportunity to oppose the amendments to the Responsible Gaming Policy Rule in the Government Gazette, this is not the case.
The broader policy changes were implemented on 3 June 2024, with a post on the Kansspelautoriteit website noting that the “policy rule comes into effect immediately." However, the enforcement of deposit limits and verification requirements will only take effect on 1 October 2024, and this is to allow the technology adjustments needed to comply with it, not for public review.
They refuse to acknowledge that easy access to VPNs, Bitcoin casinos and gambling sites licensed in other parts of the world means players can abandon the local market and still find safe and reputable casinos to join.
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