Oops the KSA did it again... Netherlands regulation in shambles

[jasonuk]

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(original in Dutch, below taken from Google Translate)

Much-discussed gambling law ineffective: vulnerable players insufficiently protected
Nik Wouters | Editor of economics

Opening up the online gambling market has made people more vulnerable to gambling addiction and has caused problems in young adults in particular. This is according to an evaluation of the gambling law that was introduced three years ago, commissioned by the Scientific Research and Data Centre (WODC).

The intention of the law was to help gambling companies combat addiction problems, but little has come of this, according to the independent knowledge institute that falls under the Ministry of Justice and Security.

So that part sounds like it needs some work - which let's be honest, most player protection schemes do and are a continuous process. However...

To see how the law works in practice, the researchers used mystery shoppers, among other things. They created accounts at online casinos and then asked for help via chat. According to the rules, gambling companies should recognize in such a message that it concerns someone with gambling problems.

However, 17 of the 23 gambling companies referred to their bonus offer page instead of addiction help. Six providers did offer help, two of which blocked the account. One gambling company called up to three times to help, also during the weekend.

Emphasis added... 17 of the 23 referred an "at-risk" mystery shopper to the bonus offers... holy cow The KSA really making a dogs dinner of this... again.

 

[L&L-Jan]

Yeah all pointing fingers, too many people involved with too many different opinions. Every "problem" they point out to can easily be fixed.

Why does the UKGC give various operators fines for: issues with social responsibility and aml? Because they actually assess the operator, the operators procedures and by randomly picking customers, to see if the operator executes their processes accordingly. If you do not: Fines are given.

As for the Dutch authority they do no conduct these type of audits, so basically operators can do as they feel like. Which they do as I know a person who list 60.000 Euros in 1 week with only 3 gameplay sessions.

 

[L&L-Jan]

@jasonuk how did you find out? Was published yesterday late in the afternoon. Curious since your UK

 

[jasonuk]

Yeah all pointing fingers, too many people involved with too many different opinions. Every "problem" they point out to can easily be fixed.

Why does the UKGC give various operators fines for: issues with social responsibility and aml? Because they actually assess the operator, the operators procedures and by randomly picking customers, to see if the operator executes their processes accordingly. If you do not: Fines are given.

As for the Dutch authority they do no conduct these type of audits, so basically operators can do as they feel like. Which they do as I know a person who list 60.000 Euros in 1 week with only 3 gameplay sessions.

With the UKGC, the fines don't scale sufficiently - a small operator can be sunk with one of those fines, meanwhile the big bookies just shrug and carry on doing the same stuff... that Entain or WH still has a license shows the UKGC is happy to let the charade continue. Not sure Denise would be too worried about a £20m fine when she's got £700m tucked away in her charity...

With the KSA, the bad faith hypothesis still seems to hold - if they do want this to fail, then they get their monopoly back but without the headaches of the EU courts because it's now an "open" market (but with potentially one operator - the state).

@jasonuk how did you find out? Was published yesterday late in the afternoon. Curious since your UK

It was sent to me by the person I spoke to regarding the KSA/NGA post a while back. They are based in the Netherlands so they've seen it play out in their home market...

 

[jeckiesz1]

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(original in Dutch, below taken from Google Translate)



So that part sounds like it needs some work - which let's be honest, most player protection schemes do and are a continuous process. However...



Emphasis added... 17 of the 23 referred an "at-risk" mystery shopper to the bonus offers... holy cow The KSA really making a dogs dinner of this... again.

I'm wondering what exactly these “mystery shoppers” were asking that the support service of 65% of the casinos surveyed redirected them to the promotion page, lmao

 

[mulven]

I'm wondering what exactly these “mystery shoppers” were asking that the support service of 65% of the casinos surveyed redirected them to the promotion page, lmao

It's pretty self explanatory, they were tasked with playing the role a problem gambler and asking for help with that.

 

[jasonuk]

I could imagine a lot of things - they've been unlucky, they're losing / not winning etc...

When there are no checks and balances in place - think before the UKGC and MGA, or Curacao - then responsible gambling is seen as a loss of revenue.

One of the historical stories that sticks out the most was 32Red - where they downgraded their responsible gambling tools because "too many" customers were using their Take A Break tool to protect their winnings which wouldn't be processed over a weekend. In 2017, this caused an almighty storm on the forums, where a player begged live chat to exclude him (which they weren't authorised to do anymore), 32red seemingly didn't process the self-exclusion correctly and the player went on to lose another £25k in the next 30 days.

If I recall correctly, they even stated to their shareholders that responsible gambling was a financial burden to the business. The £2m fine in 2018 clearly wasn't enough of a deterrent, as they got fined again in 2021 and 2023 for similar failings.

 

[TheBingoKingx]

It was sent to me by the person I spoke to regarding the KSA/NGA post a while back. They are based in the Netherlands so they've seen it play out in their home market...

And that person is... MEEEE

Anyways on topic (and hi everyone!): this all didnt come as any surprise to me. If one single thing has never ever existed in The Netherlands then thats called ''Responsible Gambling'', and probably, by the looks of it, never ever will. I've said this stuff out loud even before the legislation of online gambling, and every single news article that comes out - shows i was 100% right.

Same with for example the raise of tax soon, providers are already pulling out (like Tombola has already done) and i cant seem to think otherwise than it being a reason for other providers to start taking the p*ss even more, simply because they need to pay higher bills..

Oh, and does any dutch casino have a independent body for casino disputes yet? nope.. like the song goes: ''i wonder how, i wonder why..''

 

[TheBingoKingx]

Ah, another one to add to this thread.

I have (and multiple others i know) been contacted by ''Fair Play Casino'' on the phone about all the new games they had, how they could get me back as a player (havent played there in probably over a year, very possibly even more!).

Now i dont even have their marketing turned on, nor have i ever given them permission to call me or contact me in any way like that.

How the hell all this stuff is happening and the casinos are getting away with it, its all one big mystery to me...

 

[L&L-Jan]

Ah, another one to add to this thread.

I have (and multiple others i know) been contacted by ''Fair Play Casino'' on the phone about all the new games they had, how they could get me back as a player (havent played there in probably over a year, very possibly even more!).

Now i dont even have their marketing turned on, nor have i ever given them permission to call me or contact me in any way like that.

How the hell all this stuff is happening and the casinos are getting away with it, its all one big mystery to me...

Was that you who created that topic about fairplay on onetime?

 

[TheBingoKingx]

Was that you who created that topic about fairplay on onetime?

i'd rather die within the next 5 minutes then post on that scammy site.

 

[Oscar Arnhem]

i'd rather die within the next 5 minutes then post on that scammy site.

Scammy site,please explain?

 

[TheBingoKingx]

Scammy site,please explain?

wont explain that here, but the owners arent fair and square but they pretend to be.

 

[Oscar Arnhem]

wont explain that here, but the owners arent fair and square but they pretend to be.

Dm please

 

[L&L-Jan]

wont explain that here, but the owners arent fair and square but they pretend to be.

Uhmz, I view myself as quite fair and square, please elaborate?

 

[TheBingoKingx]

Uhmz, I view myself as quite fair and square, please elaborate?

Lets edit it then: ''not all of the owners''.

I ain't gonna put that kinda stuff here anyways. Who knows knows, and who doesnt.. doesnt.

 

[sufferinsilence]

Uhmz, I view myself as quite fair and square, please elaborate?

 

[Elgoog]

Jan,You mn you are one of the owners?