Compliance Updates
Dutch Government Approves Online Gambling Ad Ban

The Dutch government has published the full draft of its ban on “untargeted” advertising and recruitment by licensed betting companies in the Netherlands, setting a start date of July 1.
From that date, operators in the Netherlands will have to adhere to a much stricter advertising policy. Measures include a ban on televised advertisements and marketing in public places, such as via billiards and on printed media.
Bookmakers will have a little more leeway with online and social media advertising. Companies can continue to do so, but must be able to prove that any material is targeted to audiences aged 24 and older.
The document was submitted to the Hague on April 5 by Franc Weerwind, Minister for Legal Protection at the Ministry of Justice and Security, the long-term architect of the legislation.
Following the regulation of the Dutch online market on 1 October 2021, political observers in the Netherlands have voiced concern about the increase in advertising after the first licences were issued.
Explaining the rationale behind the new restrictions on the Dutch online betting sector less than three years into maturity, Weerwind outlined that “the amount of advertising for remote games of chance has increased sharply”.
“Addiction care and people who have experience with addiction problems have indicated that they have difficulty with the large amount of untargeted advertising,” the Minister wrote.
“Research also shows that advertising for remote games of chance is often seen through channels with a very wide reach. As a result, people with addiction problems for games of chance can hardly escape a confrontation with games of chance advertising in their daily lives.”
Weerwind did acknowledge that advertising fulfils a core function of the KOA Act legislation which regulated the market back in 2021, that being promotion of the regulated offering.
“It should be noted that it is difficult to quantify the exact consequences of the large amount of untargeted advertising and its broad and untargeted reach,” Weerwind continued.
“This is primarily because it is not yet clear how large the number of players that play on the illegal market are and have played in the past.
“It is clear that many Dutch people already played with illegal providers before the market opened, but it is unclear how large this number is exactly, how many players have since switched from illegal to legal providers and what growth of new players there has been.”
Both the government and KSA have observed that marketing by licensed bookmakers directs punters to legal operators that adhere to the player protection standards enforced by the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) gambling authority.
However, legislators and addiction treatment specialists’ main concerns are that advertising may be too far-reaching, potentially exposing young people – meaning those aged 18-24 – and under-age consumers to age-restricted betting products.
By confirming the July 1 launch date for the advertising clampdown, Weerwind remains on track with his most recent legislative objectives, having said in March that the ban would come into force no later than this day.
Compliance Updates
TOTO Sport and TOTO Casino launch instant payouts in the Netherlands with Trustly

TOTO Sport and TOTO Casino, a leading online gaming operator and part of Nederlandse Loterij, has launched the industry-leading instant payout solution offered by Trustly, the global leader in open banking payments.
By enabling instant withdrawals for its players, TOTO Sport and TOTO Casino will enhance user experience and drive player trust, preference and loyalty. According to research done by Trusty, 8 out of 10 players say that fast payouts are important when choosing an online gaming or betting provider.
TOTO Sport and TOTO Casino are owned by Nederlandse Loterij, the state-owned and largest gaming organization in the Netherlands. Nederlandse Loterij was one of the first operators to hold a Dutch online gaming license and provides nine game brands across multiple verticals, including TOTO Sport and TOTO Casino.
Trustly is the leading open banking payment provider for online gambling in the Netherlands and is the provider of choice for the majority of licensed operators in the market. Apart from its core instant deposit and payout products, the company recently introduced its revolutionary user onboarding product Pay N Play 2.0, which is set to go live with multiple operators in 2023. Trustly is also one of the official cPSPs offering iDEAL payments in the Netherlands, making the overall payment product offering of the company second to none in this competitive market.
Trustly’s VP of Gaming Vasilije Lekovic commented: “Trustly’s partnership with TOTO Sport and TOTO Casino is a testament to the product quality, reputation and reliability of Trustly in the Dutch online gambling market. Our unparalleled instant payout product, in combination with the rest of our open banking payment offering in the Netherlands, has established Trustly as the partner of choice for multiple operators in this market and we’re very excited that TOTO, one of the market leaders, has joined that group. We look forward to working closely with TOTO so we can help bring more value to the company and its users.”
Arjan Blok, CFO Nederlandse Loterij, commented: “We are pleased to introduce instant payouts for our customers via the Trustly platform. Players in the Netherlands are already used to instant payments in all their personal bank transfers and in their deposits for online gaming. It is no more than logical that this is now also possible for our payouts. This will enhance the experience for all of TOTO’s customers.”
Trustly’s best-in-class tech platform built on Open Banking capabilities connects the world’s top brands with consumers who can pay directly from their bank accounts. Founded in Stockholm in 2008, Trustly is an innovator within Open Banking, establishing instant deposits and withdrawals before the concept was widely understood and advising the EU Commission on the landmark regulatory framework PSD2.
Compliance Updates
The Slovak Gambling Authority’s systematic check activities help reduce the number of illegal gaming devices

In Q1 2023, the Slovak Gambling Authority conducted 2511 compliance checks, which is 201 more compared to last year.
The significant year-on-year increase in the number of checks is due to the restructuring of surveillance and the strategic set-up of the supervision by the Authority's top management.
"I am very pleased that the goals set up by the current management are also successfully fulfilled in the gambling supervision area. Of course, a big thank you to our local supervisors, who actively investigate illegal devices and supervise the fulfilment of all legal requirements by legal operators.
Having gambling under systematic supervision is one of the main missions of the Authority as a gambling regulator," said the Director General at the Office for the Regulation of Gambling (URHH), Dávid Lenčéš.
More than a 45 % increase against the same period last year was recorded in checks focused on the search of illegal gambling establishments. In the first quarter of 2023, supervisors conducted 437 compliance checks focusing on unlawful gambling as mining and quiz machines, intending to prevent further operation. As Director General said, “Increased systematic check activities of illegal establishments has its justification and brings results as, compared to 2022, the number of detected illegal gaming machines on the market is significantly reduced. Searching for illegal establishments and seizing illegal devices has a preventive nature and ultimately protects society, especially at-risk groups and the youth.”
According to the Gambling Act, small operators, such as pubs, can't operate gaming machines. The URHH must license each gaming machine since it is the only official body authorised to issue a license. Operating gambling without a given license is prohibited in Slovakia.
The Gambling Regulatory Authority also carries out surveillance remotely. In the Q1 of this year, we are talking about an almost 90 % increase in on-site checks compared with last year. Thanks to online access to the servers of gambling operators, this form of supervision allows more effective control of many establishments without physically leaving the workplace.
Establishing a specialised online gaming department in 2022 also contributed to the overall increase of supervision effectiveness over 2022-2023. The mission of the specialised department is to supervise licensed online gambling or searching for and restrict access to illegal websites operating or promoting gambling without valid licenses.
Compliance Updates
ODDS ON COMPLIANCE LAUNCHES PLAYBOOK EUROPE, A GLOBAL EXPANSION OF ITS COMPREHENSIVE REGULATORY TECH PLATFORM

-
Baltics7 days ago
Swintt enters Lithuanian market through 7Bet partnership
-
Gambling in the USA7 days ago
Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – May 22-28
-
Balkans7 days ago
Skilrock Technologies to Exhibit at the 11th EL Congress 2023
-
eSports7 days ago
DMCC Publishes Latest “Future of Trade” Report on Gaming and Esports
-
Latest News7 days ago
One week to go until Kambi’s Festival of Sportsbook
-
eSports7 days ago
SPORTFIVE Partners with Saudi Esports Federation
-
Asia6 days ago
BMM Testlabs Attending G2E Asia Singapore
-
Interviews6 days ago
Exclusive Q&A with Paul Sampson, CEO of Lickd