Two lawmakers in the Netherlands, Mikal Tseggai from the Dutch Labor Party and Willem Koops from the New Social Contract Party, have recently proposed that the government play a larger role in ensuring that illegal gambling websites are restricted.
Under the newly regulated market, the Netherlands prohibits operators without a license from the Netherlands Gambling Authority from accessing the country or targeting its citizens. This, however, partially depends on whether Google is effectively assisting in blocking access to illegal gambling operators and limiting their exposure in the country.
Lawmakers Push for Search Engine Accountability
Tseggai and Koops have urged stronger government involvement, particularly regarding how search results are handled.
“The House of Representatives heard the deliberation requesting the government to include a ban on advertising and making gambling websites findable in search engines in the new gambling law, unless the Gambling Authority has exceptionally certified a provider as a reliable organisation, the so-called whitelisting, on the basis of a careful review.”
Mikal Tseggai, Willem Koops
For its part, Google maintains that it already enforces such restrictions, blocking advertisements from illegal gambling operators by distinguishing between approved and unapproved companies in its advertising policies, specifically in places such as the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, and others.
Illegal Operators Still Find a Way
However, a common concern remains: illegal gambling sites continue to appear in Google searches, and players are still able to access them. The Netherlands Gambling Authority has issued several high-profile penalties against offshore gambling operators, arguing that these entities have been able to offer games of chance to local players without the necessary licenses.
Most brazenly, some illegal gambling operators have resorted to targeting users with search terms like “websites not on Cruks,” referring to the country’s self-exclusion register—exemplifying the unethical lengths some websites will go to to reach vulnerable and at-risk consumers. These people need help and treatment options, not more gambling sites available
Greater government involvement in limiting access to such websites could entail ISP-blocking powers, a measure that has been tried and tested in places like Australia. While the process has been slow there, it has proven efficient.
In contrast, however, ISP blocks have been deemed unconstitutional in Germany by a court of law.