Dutch VVD pushes for forward motion on Dutch Remote Gambling

Industry stakeholders await news as to whether the Dutch Kamer (Parliament) will proceed with reviewing new amendments attached to the Netherlands’ long-awaited Remote Gambling Bill.

2018 has proved to be yet another year of delays and obstructions with regards to legalising Dutch online gambling services, as the Remote Bill enters its second year in standstill motion.

Last June, Sander Dekker the VVD Minister for Legal Protections re-proposed a new remote licensing framework aiming to revitalise the bill’s mandate for review by the Kamer.

Controversially, and against the demands of the Netherlands Tweede (House of Representatives), Dekker has called for ‘penalised operators’ to be allowed to apply for remote licenses should Dutch bill proceed.

Dekker’s motion will likely anger a number of Tweede representatives, who had previously sanctioned that any unlicensed operators targeting Dutch consumers would be penalised and rescinded from joining a regulated Netherlands online gambling market.

With the Dutch government returning from its summer recess on 3 September, Dekker and VVD members seek to prioritise a review of the Remote Gambling Bill’s mandate the top priority of the Kamer’s agenda.

The VVD pushes for a review of the remote gambling bill, as Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit restructures its leadership, following this month’s announcement that Marja Appelman had stepped down as Director General of the authority.