Dutch Get Tough on Online Illegal Advertisers

Dutch Secretary of State for Justice Fred Teeven: ‘I cannot tell you now that organizations will never be awarded a license, however they are playing with fire.’ (Image: ANP)
The country’s Secretary of State for Justice, Fred Teeven, has made it very clear that operators currently targeting the Dutch market illegally are unwelcome while the Dutch may well open up their online gambling market next year. In fact, in reaction to concerns in the Dutch Parliament about the quantity of online sports betting advertising directed at Dutch citizens within the run up towards the World Cup, Teeven warned that such sites had been ‘playing with fire.’
While Holland may have a liberal and socially modern mindset towards soft drugs like cannabis, and prostitution, the same cannot be traditionally stated of online gambling. There are no legal Internet video gaming sites in the country, and the government holds a monopoly that is complete gambling. The country’s only land-based casino chain, Holland Casino, which operates 13 venues round the country, is wholly owned by the state, with all profits visiting the Treasury.
Breaking the Law
But, movements are afoot to alter this. Last 12 months, the Dutch Remote Gambling Act was drawn up and passed by an initial round of lawmakers in February. The bill is anticipated to be rubber-stamped later on this and should come into force midway through next year year. Experts predict that the regulated online environment would bring in €200 million in gross video gaming income in its first year.
Teeven has made it clear, however, that overseas operators are breaking Dutch law by targeting the Dutch market. With echoes of the recent ‘cease and desist’ letters delivered by nj-new Jersey regulators to online gambling advertisers, the Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) recently penned to certain operators who’ve been noisily promoting World Cup betting to Dutch citizens, warning them that they face sanctions should they continue to do so.
Issue was posed in the House of Representatives by Mei Li Vos who asked: ‘If companies advertise, do they adhere to regulations or otherwise not? And does this mean that Unibet and other big events will not get a license when the law that is new been authorized?’
Teeven said that the KSA mostly targets companies whom use such media as radio, TV, and web sites ending in .nl, and those that have Dutch language options, in its fight illegal advertising, although he would not be drawn into mentioning any businesses by name.
Bad Actors Frozen Out?
‘So far, things have gone quite well and only a few businesses were active into the market that is dutch. However, this is changing,’ said Teeven. ‘Companies which do so can be playing with fire as it pertains to licensing once the remote gaming law is implemented. Obviously, the KSA is in charge of licensing. We should however just take into account the Bouwmeester Motion.’
The Bouwmeester Motion could be the equivalent of the ‘bad actor clause’ which has been adopted by newly controlled states within the US, such as New Jersey and Nevada, and it is part of the proposed bill to legalize poker that is online California. Founded last year, it stipulates that illegal gambling operators that provide wagers to Dutch citizens ought to be excluded from a future market that is regulated. As is the scenario in the usa, this list would include industry giants such as PokerStars (even though the latter’s recent buyout by Amaya Gaming must certanly be a game changer in that arena).
However, Teeven declined to say definitively whether such operators would be frozen out forever: ‘I cannot inform you now that companies will never be granted a license, nonetheless they are playing with fire,’ he repeated. ‘It could be against all agreements we now have reached in the past.’
US Casinos Must Refuse Bets from Medical Marijuana Profits
All bets are down: Medical marijuana workers are to be refused bets at casinos across the US, on pain of prosecution, state federal regulators. (Image: ukcsc.co.uk)
America’s gambling enterprises must refrain from accepting bets from workers within the marijuana that is medical, a team of federal regulators told gaming executives at the 2014 Bank Secrecy Act Conference in Las Vegas recently. Just as the clash between federal and state that is individual has hindered the processing of online gaming transactions in the newly regulated states, the federal stance on marijuana means that the federal government will not permit the casino industry to deal with the proceeds of cannabis sales. How casinos are to determine that exactly, is plainly planning to be problematic all around.
Former White House consultant on cash laundering issues Jim Dowling, that is now a consultant to casinos, told executives: ‘Casinos can not accept any money from them, or they need to comply with the brand new government guidance. This really is a federal problem that has been brewing for a little while, and now it is coming to a mind. State laws and laws that are federaln’t match up.’
Should a casino knowingly accept a bet from a person working in the medical marijuana industry, they could face prosecution, unless they perform a few time-consuming, costly, and frankly unrealistic background checks, Dowling explained. In this respect, casinos are being told to adopt a similar relationship mindset towards the medical marijuana industry as the banks, which may have essentially blacklisted anyone in that company from starting a checking or savings account.
No Pot Luck Allowed
Dowling said he wanted to boost the problem during the conference in las vegas to make sure that casinos were conscious of the new guidelines therefore that they could avoid any danger of prosecution.
‘It’s very controversial. We’ll most likely obtain a large amount of hate mail for bringing it,’ he said. ‘But if you put your self in a banker’s situation, could you wish to have to do all that and place yourself at unlawful risk?
‘ Bankers are all just saying, ‘We don’t want those nagging problems,’ ‘ said Dowling, whom is also a banking consultant. ‘One banker called them toxic.’
There were protests from civil liberty groups over the federal government’s stance they claim that workers are now being treated like pariahs and denied basic rights.
‘ The government is again saying individuals involved in the marijuana company don’t have liberties,’ complained Dale Gieringer, director of California marijuana advocacy group NORML.
Pot Control
Meanwhile, Jennifer Shasky Calvery, Director of FinCEN, the branch of the Treasury which regulates casinos and banking institutions, was also present at the conference. She referred concerns to her news spokesman, Stephen Hudak, who appeared to verify Dowling’s assertion.
‘FinCEN’s guidance applies to all or any institutions that are financial under FinCEN regulations, including casinos,’ said Hudak.
Calvery additionally wants to enforce rules more rigorously that will need gambling enterprises to have their high-rollers to divulge the source of their bankrolls, an unpopular move with the casinos. She called gambling enterprises ‘complex banking institutions’ that have to get accustomed to ‘thinking a lot more like other banking institutions.’
The Nevada Gaming Control Board recently ruled that none of its license holders should have such a thing to accomplish because of the state’s legalization of the medical marijuana trade. Marijuana has been legal for medicinal purposes in Nevada since 2000, however in 2013 the law changed allowing businesses to dispense the medication, giving the go-ahead for 66 outlets throughout the state.
Pennsylvania Sands Penalized for Underage Gambling
While Sheldon Adelson is fond of scaremongering rhetoric about underage gambling online, the Sands Bethlehem in Pennsylvania has been fined for enabling minors to gamble every 12 months since it started. (Image: osga.com)
The Sands Bethlehem in Pennsylvania, has been fined for allowing teenagers to gamble and consume alcohol on its premises for the fifth time in as many years while Sheldon Adelson rails against the evils of online gambling, stoking fears that it will irreversibly corrupt America’s youth, one of his casinos.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control slapped an $85,000 penalty on Sands Bethworks Gaming for six incidents of underage gambling between 3rd 2013 and January 29th 2014 at the Sands Casino Bethlehem in Northampton County june. Two 17-year-olds, a 19-year-old, and three 20-year-olds have been seen playing dining table games or slot machines at the casino with this period. It brings the total to 20 individual incidents of underage gambling over the past 5 years, that has cost Las Vegas Sand Corp. some $220,000 in fines.
Not Walking the Talk
While this means that the Sands Bethlehem has been penalized every 12 months because it started in ’09, it should be noted it’s not the sole casino in the state to fall foul of this authorities in Pennsylvania. Mount Airy Casino in Paradise Township has compensated even higher fines within the past, and recently Valley Forge Casino Resort in Montgomery County was handed a $35,000 fine for two incidents that occurred last year, the second time Valley Forge happens to be penalized for underage gambling violations.
Ironically, Adelson’s Coalition to avoid Internet Gambling (CSIG) is fond of utilizing rhetoric to claim that online casinos prey on underage gamblers, ignoring the truth that regulation means greater protection and brings with it age-verification that is rigorous. CSIG recently created a video clip spot showing a teenage boy playing on their father’s gambling account, as the Coalition steps up its campaign to push via a federal bill that would enforce a blanket ban on online gaming.
‘I think the recent $32.5 million settlement by Apple over in-app acquisitions made by kids on their parents’ iPads/iPhones is simply the end of the iceberg if on the web gambling continues to grow,’ said Coalition National Co-Chair and Senator that is former Blanche at the advertisement’s launch.
‘If children can blow $2,600 in the app ‘Tap Pet Hotel,’ then think of what can happen when they get hold of their parent’s password and begin playing blackjack? It’s a nightmare scenario for parents.’
Hysteria and Hypocrisy
The incident at the Sands Bethlehem highlights the hypocrisy that many feel lies beneath the hysteria at the heart of the Coalition’s argument. Adelson suffered a further blow to their cause recently when their closest ally in Washington, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, had been defeated in Virginia’s Republican primary. Cantor will now stand down, which means the Coalition has lost a powerful backer, and that could hinder its efforts to promote the bill that is federal.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania is evaluating a bill of unique, supported by State Senator Edwin Erickson, that, if passed away would, legalize and control poker that is online the state. It comes hot on the heels of a study that is recent commissioned by the state’s Legislative Budget and Finance Committee and conducted by consultancy firm Econsult, which concluded internet poker would be considered a huge financial boon to Pennsylvania, creating $129 million in revenue each year.