There are serious concerns surrounding the future of gambling reforms in the Netherlands following the collapse of the country’s coalition government.
Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right PVV party, sparked the political crisis when he stormed out of an emergency meeting called by PM Dick Schoof and subsequently withdrew his party’s support from the coalition.
The reason for his ire appears to be due to the other three parties of the coalition refusing to sign a new immigration policy.
As a result, the country now awaits an election, however, this is not expected until after the Dutch parliament returns from its summer recess on 1 September.
Although the remaining three parties will continue in a caretaker role until a new government is formed, Schoof has admitted to lawmakers that some policies may be put on ice until a new coalition is formed.
“The last thing we want now is postponement, but it is unavoidable in some cases,” he said.
This may well include any changes to the Netherlands’ regulatory framework for gaming.
The Netherlands welcomed international and domestic private operators in 2021 via the Remote Gambling Act, however, concerns over the black market and problem gambling has led to politicians pushing for wider regulatory reforms.
Currently, Teun Struycken serves as the Legal Protections Minister, succeeding Franc Weerwind, who held the role between 2022 and 2024.
Building on his predecessors’ work, Struycken has continued the conversation around introducing affordability limits, as well as proposed for an age increase to 21 for slots and live casino games.
In addition, Struycken has expanded proposals to ban untargeted advertisements on TV, radio and in public to also include a ban on utilising influencers, social media and streaming platforms.
However, given the current political uncertainty, it is now highly unlikely that any action will be undertaken on reforms until a new government is put in place.
In addition, depending on the results, a new Legal Protections Minister could be appointed with differing views on the direction that the sector needs to take compared to Struycken and Weerwind.
PM Schoof’s cabinet consisted of four parties, Wilders’ PVV, VVD (centre-right), NSC (centrist) and BBB (agricultural).
If these parties were to retain their electorate, a coalition could form between PVV, VVD and BBB, given their similar political ideologies, and it would appear that any partnership would feature populist messages, which will also include the gambling sector.
In comparison, a left-green union between GroenLinks (PvdA) and Democrats (D66) could emerge, which would likely instead focus on social initiatives through gambling taxation. This would put further strain on a market that is already preparing for a tax hike to 37.8% by 2026.
