Dutch banks won't help gov't set gambling limit to protect customers' privacy

Dutch banks will not help the government to set a gambling limit for their customers. They feel that monitoring customers’ gambling behavior is a privacy violation, Ronit van der Schaaf of the Dutch Banking Association (NVB) told NOS.

Minister Franc Weerwind for Legal Protection had promised parliament that he would ask banks to do more to prevent problematic gambling. Politicians are working on a law to set gambling limits, but it could take years to implement. The idea is that banks would be able to help more quickly by intervening if a gambler transfers too much money from his account to gambling companies.

The Dutch banks are very much against the idea. “We see the scale of the number of people with problematic gambling debts, but we are surprised that the solution to these problems is left to the banks,” Van der Schaaf said.

Banks are required by law to monitor customers’ accounts for transactions that could indicate money laundering or terrorism financing. They don’t want to intrude into their customers’ privacy more than legally required. They’re also not allowed to. “At the moment, we cannot just look at that and that is a good thing,” said Van der Schaaf. “We and our customers value that.”

The banks say there are other, easier-to-implement ways to limit gambling without their intervention. “We see other solutions, such as limiting advertising and tackling cash gambling with your credit card. These solutions are faster, more effective, and also cheaper,” said Van der Schaaf.

The government has already limited gambling advertisements. Weerwind isn’t sure about banning gambling with a credit card, his spokesperson told NOS.

“The question is whether a restriction on the use of credit cards is effective against excessive gambling,” the spokesperson said. Gamblers can simply transfer money from their credit card to a checking account and then gamble online. There are also no signals that gamblers “excessively use” their credit cards. “The Ministry prefers solutions that can protect a large group of players.”