Björn Fuchs: Ban on online gambling advertising is a major risk for the Dutch market

This week, the motion was passed in the Netherlands to impose a ban on online gambling advertising. This caused a shock among licensed casinos and threatens to play into the hands of the illegal gambling market.

Gambling Club asked one of the prominent figures in the Dutch online casino world Björn Fuchs for his opinion and the consequences that a ban will have.

Can you introduce yourself to our readers?

My name is Björn Fuchs. Since September 1, 2020, I have been CDO (Chief Digital Officer) at Janshen-Hahnraths Group B.V. This proud family business has been active on the Dutch market for more than 60 years. It has become known with the many physical Fair Play casinos. Since October 2021, the online casino www.fairplaycasino.nl has been added. Within Janshen-Hahnraths Group I am responsible for online activities and digitalization.

In addition to this position, I am also a board member of the online trade association VNLOK and I am on the Advisory Board of the Quality Mark for Responsible Affiliates (KVA).

What is the impact of these voted motions? When will the legislation come into effect?

The actual impact of the motions remains to be seen. It is now up to the responsible minister Weerwind to determine whether, how and when he will implement the adopted motions. The most important motions are those on banning online advertising for online gambling and the motion on banning online games of chance with a very high risk.

After the ban on untargeted advertising (TV, radio, newspapers, and outdoor advertising), targeted advertising on the Internet will also be banned. This amounts to an advertising ban. If certain online gambling games are subsequently banned, it will be virtually impossible to reach Dutch gamblers with a sufficiently attractive offer.

The consequences for operators are obvious. However, it is about the negative consequences for Dutch consumers who want to gamble online. These measures push it into the dangerous hands of illegal online casinos.

What went wrong in the evaluation process?

We must conclude that there is nothing wrong with the legally established evaluation process. The motions adopted have nothing to do with that. The motions simply arise from the urge of two political parties that want to ban gambling on principled grounds.

The Christian Union and the SP do not want to wait for the evaluation. They deal in spreading opinions, incorrect figures, and unfounded fears. Fear images about hundreds of thousands of new, young gamblers and billions in winnings are frequently repeated and rhetorically packaged into facts.

In practice, only a small minority of gamblers certainly develop a gambling addiction. There is not yet any research that shows that more gambling addicts have arisen due to the Dutch, legal providers of online gambling.

In fact, in every TV item that promotes the fear images, one invariably sees anonymous people who became addicted before the online gambling market was legalized in the Netherlands. While playing at illegal online gambling websites.

About the paradox of overregulation leading to an increase in illegal supply. How should this balance between regulation and consumer protection look like?

Preventing gambling addiction is a central theme in gambling policy. It is an integral part of the licensing conditions and therefore also of the daily practice of every legal Dutch operator.

Naturally, there is always room for improvement in the duty of care. Proportionality and effectiveness are essential. This can only be achieved through research, facts, and dialogue between all relevant stakeholders.

Without research and facts, policy is based on opinions and assumptions. With the risk of consequence of shooting a mosquito with a cannon. Then more is affected than necessary and the net effect is counterproductive.

How will the visibility of legal online gambling operators affect the market and consumers? When will the impact be felt?

If legal providers are no longer allowed to advertise anywhere, illegal online casinos will continue to be active via Google and various social media platforms. There they lure players with extreme bonuses. Without advertising for legal providers, a searching consumer will have difficulty distinguishing between a legal and an illegal online casino. Then people quickly fall into the trap of an illegal online casino.

The first impact of this was already visible in the most recent Monitoring Report from the Gaming Authority. This showed that channelization had decreased slightly and that the online gambling market in the second half of 2023 showed virtually no growth compared to the first half of 2023. The latter contrasts with to several other European countries, where in the second half of 2023 there was substantial growth. Given the extensive and continuous activity of illegal casinos on Google, the above is, in my opinion, the first sign that the gambling need is moving towards the illegal offer.

There is a need for policies based on facts and thorough research. What would the ideal approach look like when researching gambling regulation?

Research into gambling regulation must primarily revolve around the players. A good investigation maps out everything about those players. This should not only look at quantitative aspects and statistics, but also at qualitative aspects. Both players and providers must therefore be intensively involved. Then a good overall picture is created based on facts. Solid policy can be formed on this basis. Not based on opinions, assumptions, or fears.

Given the current trends and the motions passed, how does the future of online gambling in the Netherlands look like?

It will remain challenging, to say the least.

However, we must be able to rely on the common sense of the responsible minister and his skilled officials. Let us not forget that the minister advised against many of the adopted motions in advance. He did this with good substantiation and with a view to the planned evaluation.

The Gaming Authority can’t close the internet 100% to illegal online casinos. The minister knows that an attractive, responsible legal online offering is necessary to properly protect Dutch online gamblers. Including advertising, otherwise the legal online providers would be unheard.

What is the role of the Gaming Authority in the current climate of online gambling regulation?

Through their outgoing chairman René Jansen, the Gaming Authority has always positioned itself very realistically and professionally. Not so long ago, for example, he argued for a balance between restrictions and attractive offers. That speaks volumes about the role of the Gaming Authority.

What drives you personally to speak so passionately about this topic? What are the main concerns regarding gambling policy in the Netherlands?

For the outside world, the primary conclusion will be that I have a commercial interest, as CDO of a gambling company. However, those in the know that I came to work at Janshen-Hahnraths Group for a specific reason. Our company firmly believes in structural, (social) responsible entrepreneurship. It is in the company’s DNA, from the shareholders to the coffee lady. I share that DNA. I am proud of the way we offer games of chance.

Gambling policy in the Netherlands has been rhetorically hijacked by two political parties, which simply want to ban gambling based on their party ideology. They rely mainly on opinions, assumptions, and fear images. That is never good for policy and therefore not for the protection of Dutch consumers. That is a worrying observation.

How would Dutch policymakers improve gambling regulation and legislation?

At the risk of repeating yourself: base yourself on facts and do not be guided by opinions and/or assumptions. Policy must be consistent, effective, and proportionate. I’m saying this completely redundantly. This is already the starting point at both the Ministry of Justice & Security and the Gaming Authority. Rather, it is politics that makes it difficult for them with a barrage of motions that have been rejected in advance.

My primary message towards politics is the same: base yourself on facts and do not be guided by opinions and/or assumptions. Policy must be consistent, effective and proportionate. Continuous, excessive restrictions on legal providers hurt consumer protection. It also directly affects the legal certainty of legal companies, which have obtained a permit after a strict application procedure.

Is there a possibility that Fair Play Casino might come to Belgium?

Apart from the fact that I live in Zutendaal myself, I unfortunately cannot make any statement about that.

We could only try to get a scoop from you Bjorn. Nevertheless we want to thank you for your time with us and we wish you nothing but the best with the further evolution of the gambling market.