New Dutch government moves gambling policy to new secretary of state

Gambling policy will be the responsibility of the new secretary of state for legal protection.

The Netherlands.- With an agreement finally in place for a new coalition government, gambling policy in the Netherlands will pass to the newly created secretary of state for legal protection. The secretary, which will fall under the Ministry of Justice, will replace the former minister for legal protection role most recently occupied by Franc Weerwind.

After six months of negotiations, Geert Wilders‘ Party for Freedom (PPV) will lead a conservative coalition with the Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the New Social Contract Party (NSC) and the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB). State broadcaster NOS has reported that the NSC be given the secretary of state for legal protection role and that the VVD’s David van Weel, will be named minister of justice.

Dick Scoof will become The Netherlands’ new prime minister, replacing Mark Rutte after 14 years. Five ministries will reportedly go to members of the PPV, while VVD and NSC will each get four and the BBB two. Weerwind, who became minister for legal protection in January 2022, will leave The Hague. 

New Dutch responsible gambling rules come into force

Earlier this month, new responsible gambling rules were published in the Dutch official gazette and came into force yesterday (June 3). The measures include new financial checks when players deposit more than a certain amount.

The Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) noted that while the policy has come into force, some rules will be enforced from October 1 to allow operators time to make changes to their IT systems and to recruit more staff if needed. By October 1, operators must implement financial checks when players aged 18 to 24 deposit more than €300 or when players aged over 24 deposit more than €700.