Dutch regulator accused of impropriety
Political parties argue invitation to express interest in licences is "improper to Parliament" with bill still yet to be passed
A group of politicians in the Netherlands have accused the country’s gambling regulator of impropriety after the body issued a request for operators to register an interest in the soon-to-be-regulated online gambling market.
In a series of questions sent to secretary of state Fred Teeven from members of opposition parties Segers Christian Union, Oskam and Kooiman last week, the Kansspelautoriteit’s (KSA) invitation was accused of being “improper to Parliament” due to the country’s remote gambling bill not yet being passed.
KSA chief executive Marja Appelman revealed in October the regulator was to ask operators to register an official interest in obtaining a licence from 1 December in order to “get to know” potential licensees prior to the market re-regulating late next year.
Appelman previously estimated the regulator would receive between 50 and 80 licence applications, however, this figure has been questioned by the three parties who have demanded to know the basis on which the KSA had for such a range.
Teeven has also been asked to clarify why the licensing structure, which is not expected to go live until H2 2015, was being “rushed through”, while the subject of operators illegally advertising in the country has also been questioned.
William Hill recently wrote to its affiliate partners demanding that they withdraw all activities from the Netherlands and the three parties have requested the KSA disclose the details of all gaming companies that have infringed throughout the past year.
Teeven has yet to respond to the questions but has up to six weeks to do so formally under Dutch parliamentary process.
The KSA was unavailable for comment at time of publication.