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The report Alcohol Sales at a Distance has recently been presented to the Dutch House of Representatives. The research was a follow-up to a study from 2020. In both studies, Dialogic collaborated with Ecorys as a subcontractor. Our part involved analysing around 100 websites that sell alcohol, including coding to determine if and how the websites verify the age of their customers. We also examined the accepted payment methods, delivery costs and times, as well as the general assortment of beverages on these websites. The entire research also included a survey to investigate how often Dutch people, especially young people/minors, order alcohol from Dutch and foreign websites and how often their age was checked.
Since the previous measurement in 2020, it has become mandatory for customers to confirm their age through an 'active action'. This was reflected in the results: unlike in the baseline measurement, practically all Dutch websites now have some form of active age verification. Unfortunately, this often only involves ticking a box to confirm that you are 18+, with little actual verification happening in practice. One of the key conclusions of the research is that the amended Alcohol Act has proven to be ineffective in reducing underage online alcohol purchases. Suggested measures to address this include: requiring a more reliable age verification system (e.g. iDIN), conducting test orders to check if stores also verify age at the door and improving the regulation of alcohol advertising. The letter to the House and the report can be found here.
Want to learn more about the research? Contact Melvin Hanswijk.