A sunny Amsterdam was host to the seventh annual Gaming in Holland Conference on June 24 and was followed by the Responsibility in Gaming Awards Dinner.
Key elements of the conference included news that day of further clarification in conditions for future online licensees. An agreement last year had left some unexplained gaps and Ministry of Justice official Dennis van Breemen told the meeting that his colleague, Minister for Legal Protection Sander Dekker, had sent a letter to the Dutch lower house clarifying the situation.
The main point was the necessity for online licensees to have a physical presence in the Netherlands. Following EU legal initiatives in Brussels, it was now established that only those licensees without a presence in the EU would be obligated to open a physical presence in the Netherlands.
However, a local representative in the field of addiction prevention would have to be appointed by any licensees, even those already established in the EU or EEA. The clarification removes a stumbling block currently holding up the legislative process in the Senate on fresh gambling laws. But Rutger-Jan Hebben of the Dutch industry association Speel Verantwoord warned: "Maybe the remote market will now open in a year, but it could also take three.”
In her keynote speech, Marja Appelman, CEO of the Netherlands Gaming Authority, stressed the importance of innovation, in particular in the land-based sector, in order to keep players away from unlicensed offerings. “I invite the entrepreneurs among you to innovate. Look for opportunities within existing rules and regulations to innovate and get results. The Netherlands Gaming Authority finds it important that licensees are able to offer attractive gambling possibilities, right now.”
The conference was addressed by the CEOs of both Holland Casino and Nederlandse Loterij. Erwin van Lambaart of Holland Casino said his organisation would begin to target the 25 to 36 age group with a "millennial zone" at the Utrecht casino. He also called for online gaming operators that are currently offering services to the Netherlands to be banned from holding a licence once the country’s online laws were in place.
The picture shows The Janshen-Hahnraths team accept their Operator of the Year award, led by CEO Jan Schiffelers (left).
