Dutch regulator plans to shut down unregulated sites
Kansspelautoriteit to gain new powers to shut down websites and issue public warnings to consumers as it prepares for next year's market opening
Dutch Gaming Authority (Kansspelautoriteit) chairman Jan Suyver has warned illegal operators targeting the Dutch market that the body will begin to close down sites to protect its regulated market.
Suyver used the Kansspelautoriteit’s annual report for 2013 to outline several new powers and processes it is ready to implement before the market regulates early next year.
“If you want to be fast in protecting consumers from a specific illegal provide, you need solid legal remedies to be able to do so,” Suyver said. “This is particularly the case with online gambling where the regulator’s swift action is crucial.”
The regulator expects to receive powers to shut down the websites of companies found to be operating without a licence and Suyver said the regulator will “not hesitate to put these [new powers] to use”.
Suyver also said the regulatory body will issue warnings to customers regarding specific providers that have been found to have acted inappropriately.
The Kansspelautoriteit is also expected to assume responsibility for the Dutch Wwft Act, which combats the money laundering and the funding of terrorism, in cases where online gambling operators are implicated.
A universal self-exclusion policy, similar to the one currently under consideration by the UK Gambling Commission, will also be adopted and include the country’s land-based operators and lotteries.
Throughout 2013 the regulator spent around 650,000 on what has been coined ‘Project Online Gaming’, less than the 791,000 it had budgeted for, with employee costs increasing by around 21% year-on-year to 2.9m.