Michel Groothuizen, Chairman of Dutch gambling authority Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), states that all options are on the table to seek responsibility from Big Tech companies for allowing illegal gambling ads to target Dutch customers.
In a special blog post published on the five-year anniversary of the online market’s re-regulation, Groothuizen addressed an issue that’s proved quite the headache for the regulator over the past year – illegal gambling adverts on social media platforms.
The most prominent example of this have been Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram, with the issue escalating to the point where licensed online gambling trade body VNLOK recently summoned Meta to court.
VNLOK is challenging Meta over claims that “90% of all gambling ads on Facebook in the Netherlands showcase illegal operators”, according to VNLOK’s own analysis.
“It’s extremely disappointing to see the lack of (pro)activity at Meta,” Björn Fuchs, Chairman of VNLOK, told SBC News.
Battling Big Tech’s big resources
Groothuizen now added that if companies facilitating such advertising remain insufficient in their work, he believes that the KSA should then be able to reprimand them, at least with a financial penalty.
“A sheriff who shoots and misses or one who turns out to be shooting with a clapper gun, gives the bandits a carte blanche,” he said.
“Big Tech makes a lot of money from the ads of illegal gambling providers, in the Netherlands, in Europe, and worldwide. Imposing substantial restrictions on oneself does go very against the revenue model. Yet that is what we demand of them.”
The Chairman fell short of announcing a full-blown legal crusade against Big Tech and Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs), noting that such companies have deep pockets that could drag a court battle for years.
Instead, Groothuizen said that the KSA will first seek a more collaborative approach, such as the current partnership with Google where both entities are working together on devising a “white-list” of EU licensed operators that can then be used to actively block all others from being promoted online.
Still, he added that all options to seek responsibility are on the table, with the legal path remaining a potential course of action.
“If we find that the VLOPs do not make sufficient efforts for us, or are not sufficiently effective despite their voluntary efforts, the legal path will of course always remain open.
“It is what we do while at the same time preparing for a possible confrontation. If agreements with Big Tech yield too little, we will not hesitate to take the battle against one of them.”
