Legal gambling sites: Action is being taken against illegal sites to protect minors

The trade organizations of legal gambling companies VNLOK and NOGA want the Gaming Authority to take action against illegal online gambling companies because minors can still easily access them.

The reason behind this is a study by the Quality Mark for Responsible Affiliations (KVA). According to the KVA, young people can create an account on illegal websites without identification, deposit money, and then play. Making deposits with a youth account from a Dutch bank or anonymously with cryptocurrency was also no problem. All these things are prohibited.

Chairman Helma Lodders of trade organization VNLOK calls the results "alarming. "We are not surprised that legal providers focus on the Dutch market without any problems, but this research shows how easily this happens," she says.

Industry organizations VNLOK and NOGA expect "quick and effective action to be taken against these misleading and criminal practices" by illegal providers. They also want the Gaming Authority to take measures against parties that facilitate legal gambling sites, such as internet providers, advertising platforms, and companies that arrange payments.

The Gaming Authority says it is concerned "about the opportunity that legal providers offer minors to participate in online gambling." The regulator points out that fines are already regularly imposed on gambling companies, partly because age verification is not in order. "In its own investigations, the Gaming Authority also sees the lack of age identification. This is included as an aggravating factor when sanctioning," says a spokesperson.

The regulator says that a penalty often helps to stop illegal gambling but that taking these websites offline would make enforcement more effective. "This authority was lost in the legislative process when the Remote Gambling Act was introduced, but it is an important point for discussion in evaluating that legislation this year."