Gambling companies have a big say in draft of new advertising rules
Research from Dutch news organisation NOS shows that gambling companies, including Holland Casino and the Dutch Lottery, have more influence on the creation of new rules on gambling adverts than addiction experts.
The NOS has been granted access to the file from the Ministry of Justice and Security by invoking the Government Information Act. It showed that gambling companies raised 41 points of contention. Of these 41 points, 17 were adopted by the Ministry, including the use of Dutch celebrities at events and in adverts, as well as removing advertising restrictions for people with low socio-economic status.
'There are guidelines that stipulate that collecting opinions during the drafting of legislation should be balanced, which parties were consulted, and what influence they had. This does not seem to have happened sufficiently in this case', says Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law.
‘However, the ministry believes that the amount of input from a certain party does not necessarily equate to its influence on the final decision-making, and player protection is always at the heart of rule-making.’
Voermans advocates stricter rules concerning the lobby culture. ‘A lobby register requiring registration is very important for transparency and balance. The Netherlands lags behind in comparison to the rest of Europe and has already been reprimanded twice over its policies by anti-corruption watchdog Greco.’
You can read the entire article in NH-nieuws (in Dutch) here. (€)
Photo: Keenan Constance via Unsplash