UK And Dutch Gambling Regulators Announce Cooperation Agreement
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) and Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) have announced a cooperation agreement.
The two regulatory bodies have struck the agreement to support their “respective supervisory tasks”, and they will do this by sharing information and exchanging regulatory best practices on the enforcement of policies and licencing, SBC News reports.
Informing Dutch stakeholders, KSA Chairman René Jansen said the regulatory bodies share common goals in combating international crime, preventing gambling addiction, and protecting players.
Jansen said: “Such a Memorandum of Understanding forms a good basis for sharing knowledge, collaboration and a smooth exchange of information. A clear signal is also given to providers of games of chance that cooperating is taking place at an international level. Online games of chance move across borders. That is why it is important for supervisors to work together.”
The Netherlands’ online gambling regulation is set to launch this October, and the KSA has struck several cooperation agreements with European regulatory bodies, including the Belgium Gambling Commission, the Malta Gaming Authority, Sweden’s Spelinspektionen, and France’s Autorité Nationale des Jeux.
L&L Europe Partners With BetBlocker To Create Dutch Gambling Blocker
Meanwhile, L&L Europe, the operator of popular websites such as All British Casino, has partnered with BetBlocker to develop a Dutch-based gambling block application ahead of the launch of the online gambling market in October.
According to CasinoBeats, L&L Europe will provide resources to translate the BetBlocker website and application into Dutch, and the operator will also help in ensuring that Dutch customers receive support in their native language.
Duncan Garvie, the Founder of BetBlocker, said in a statement: “The BetBlocker tool is useful for any player who needs help to manage their gambling regardless of where in the world they live. We have wanted to expand BetBlocker into other languages for a long time. However, the challenges of sourcing charitable funding limits our capacity to provide multi-language support, and with the majority of our funding coming via the UKGC licensing system, that funding has to be targeted towards supporting UK players primarily.”
“This new cooperation with L&L Europe is ground-breaking, allowing BetBlocker to support native Dutch speakers. It creates a sustainable strategy to allow us to reach Dutch users, something that we could not have managed without the support that L&L Europe have offered.”
Jan Wienk, the Marketing Manager and Head of Product Development at L&L Europe, said: “Really looking forward to kicking off this project and enhancing an already proven safer gambling tool, recognised by the UKGC as effective support for problem gamblers as part of their recovery program.
“It is also great that further commitment to develop this product coming from Feite Hofman, owner of ‘Pas op met gamen en gokken/Be careful with gaming and gambling’, offering his full support to this project.”
UK Gambling Commission Suspends Lottery England England’s License
Also this week, the UK Gambling Commission has suspended the non-remote external lottery manager license of Lottery England Limited. The license allowed the Kent-based firm to manage and provide lottery services to charities and local authorities.
In a news post on the official UKGC website, the regulatory body announced Lottery England Limited’s license suspension as well as the launch of a review into the company under section 116 of the Gambling Act 2005, with the Commission believing that the company may be unsuitable to carry on with its licensed activities. It also believes that Lottery England Limited’s activities may have been carried out contrary to the Gambling Act 2005 and that it’s failed to adhere to its license conditions.
The news comes after gambling operator Stakers surrendered its UK operating license after its appeal against the suspension of its license by the UK Gambling Commission in March 2020 was dismissed. Stakers has now surrendered its license and has withdrawn from the UK gambling market.
Earlier this month, Nektan (Gibraltar) Limited’s gambling license was suspended by the UK Gambling Commission too, with the Commission stating that it believes Nektan is “unsuitable to carry on the licensed activities” and that said activities are “being or have been carried on in a manner which is inconsistent with the licensing objectives”.
The UK Gambling Commission hasn’t just been suspending licenses, however, as it last week granted Relax Gaming’s Gibraltar company an operating license, allowing the firm to offer its catalogue of casino games to UK gambling operators.
Greentube Announces Content Agreement With BLOX
Finally, game developer Greentube, which is owned by Novomatic and recently donated to BetBlocker, has today announced a content agreement with aggregator and provider BLOX, under which a selection of Greentube’s most popular slots such as Book Of Ra Deluxe, Lucky Lady’s Charm Deluxe, and Always Hot Deluxe has been added to BLOX’s aggregation network.
Additional content from Greentube will be made available throughout the year. All of the content provided to BLOX will be made available at several gambling brands across Italy, and the agreement comes as part of Greentube’s move to expand its reach around the world.
Michael Bauer, the CFO at Greentube, said in a statement to Intergameonline: “Italy is an important market for Greentube and our games are loved by slot fans in the country. By teaming up with BLOX, a content aggregator that has quickly established itself as a trusted and reliable partner, we will be able to swiftly reach a wider audience through some of the most prominent operator brands in the market.”
Karl Grech, the CCO at BLOX, added: “Greentube’s content portfolio is second to none with iconic titles that players know and love. Through this partnership, we will significantly enhance our current offering and provide our operator partners with unrivalled high-quality titles.”