Dutch government rejects tobacco-style ad restrictions for gambling
Pre-watershed ad ban extension greenlit by government in latest vote
The Dutch government has rejected proposals to introduce advertising restrictions on gambling similar to those enforced on the country’s tobacco industry.
The now-vetoed change called for gambling ads to be kept “to a minimum”, together with a proviso that the government apply restrictions like those being used tobacco and soft drugs advertising.
The potential inclusion of a mandatory warning about gambling-related harm would have also been considered, had the motion been accepted.
The decision comes as part of a Dutch parliamentary debate into 10 separate amendments to the Remote Gaming Act tabled in the Dutch parliament last week.
A separate motion to potentially increase of the minimum age for gambling in the Netherlands was also rejected.
However, a motion to extend the pre-watershed gambling ad ban from a proposed 6am to 7pm window by two hours to 9pm was approved by the Dutch government.
Another motion ordering the investigation of additional measures to protect young people from so-called higher-risk gambling games by the Dutch government was also greenlit in the vote.
Other motions passed by parliamentary vote included requiring the Dutch government to investigate the potential provision of funding from sports betting operators to Dutch sporting associations.
The so-called cooling-off period for licensing was also approved by the Dutch government in a separate motion, which called for the first licences to be given only to “reliable, bona fide new providers”.