Gamblers who log in to legal online casinos in the Netherlands today may be confronted with the deposit limits they have set. From Tuesday 1 October 2024, providers are required to apply the new rules that have been introduced via the Responsible Gaming Policy and the Gaming Limits Regulation and more conscious gaming behaviour.

Net deposit limit
The new rules regarding playing limits will be particularly noticeable in the area of ​​deposit limits. For example, many online casinos have added a new limit to the account, the net deposit limit. This limit shows the difference between a player's deposits and withdrawals in a calendar month. For example, if a player has deposited €100 and withdrawn €40, the player has deposited €60 net.

As soon as a player passes the €700 net deposit limit, the online casino must block the possibility of depositing for this player. This net deposit limit is automatically reset on the first day of the following calendar month. On that day, the possibility of depositing is also unlocked again for players who have reached the limit.

Players who want to increase their net deposit limit can do so by sharing proof of income or assets with the online casino. Based on this information, a provider can increase the limit, with approximately 30% of net income being used as a guideline.

Players are not required to provide proof of income. Players can also choose to simply wait until the first day of the following calendar month and leave their net deposit limit as it is.

Gross deposit limit
In addition to the net deposit limits, there have also been new rules for the gross deposit limits since Tuesday. This is the deposit limit that a player sets when creating his or her account. This only takes into account the deposits in a calendar month and not any payouts as with the net deposit limit.

The biggest difference here is that the player can determine which limit he or she sets. The online casino is only required to point out to the player the risks with deposit limits of €350 or more per month, or a comparable amount per week or per month. This is done during a mandatory contact moment that can be conducted via chat or telephone.

Existing players
This mandatory contact moment only applies to new players at a provider. For existing players, the gambling companies are obliged to point out the already set limits. Players with a limit above the stated limits will see a pop-up explaining that their limits are considered high and that high deposit limits can be a sign of 'excessive participation'.

This pop-up remains visible for 30 seconds after which players are automatically redirected to the page where they can change their deposit limits. The player still decides for himself whether he wants to change his playing limits after reading the pop-up, this is not mandatory.

If players want to increase their limits to an amount that is above the stated limits, a mandatory contact moment will follow. This also applies if the player already has a limit of more than €350 per month.

This is not the case when lowering a deposit limit. Every reduction of the deposit limit must be implemented immediately, even if the new limits are set at an amount above €350.

Other changes
In addition to the changed deposit limits, online casinos have also been confronted with other measures through the new policy rule and regulation. For example, players must be reminded of their playing behavior via a pop-up every 30 minutes that they gamble online. In addition, a pop-up must be shown as soon as players have reached 50% and 100% of their limits.

With online slot machines, players must be reminded of the minimum bet of the slot machine. If the standard bet of a slot machine is set at €1.50 per spin, a message must appear stating that the player can also play at the lowest bet of, for example, €0.20 per spin.

Finally, it is mandatory to show all amounts in euros. Players must also be able to see directly on online slot machines how high their balance is and how much they are betting in euros. Slot machines may therefore not only show ‘points’ where the points represent a certain value in euros. Despite the fact that there is an exception for international poker games, GGPoker has already decided to adjust their interface from $ to €. The tournaments are still shown with $, but players see their balance in € by default.

Tools for online gambling companies
The new rules that were introduced via the Responsible Gaming Policy Rule and the Regulation on Playing Limits and More Conscious Gaming Behaviour ensured that several companies developed products to comply with the new legislation. For example, I-Finance Services launched the Affordability Check for checking the income data of players.

Trustly also announced early on in a conversation with CasinoNieuws.nl that it would develop a KYC solution that would help online casinos in the Netherlands implement the new rules.

Finally, Bluem also launched its Budget Check and RG Smart Assistant at the beginning of September. The PSD2 method was not chosen, but instead players' income declaration IB60 was used to check their income. This means that online casinos do not have access to the players' full bank account.