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With the Code of Conduct for Promotional Games of Chance, gambling providers can also organise a game of chance to promote their range of gambling opportunities. Although promotional games of chance are not inherently more harmful than other promotional activities, and gambling providers do not seem to be using the Code of Conduct to circumvent advertising rules, the current system is causing confusion. This is revealed in research conducted by Dialogic, commissioned by the Research and Documentation Centre (WODC).
"Win a Playstation with every purchased carton of milk." These promotional activities can be encountered daily in supermarkets. Although it is illegal to organise games of chance without a permit, promotional games of chance can be organised without a permit, as long as they comply with the Code of Conduct for Promotional Games of Chance (hereafter: the Code). Legal gambling providers also make use of them: they organise a game of chance to promote their gambling offerings. Think of a chance to win a weekend getaway with every €10 bet. Or a wheel of fortune which you can spin for free in a casino. Providers of online gambling use relatively few promotional games of chance. It is mainly providers of lotteries and physical arcades and casinos that utilise this form of promotion. With this, they aim to attract new players, draw people to their location, and entertain them there. The majority of the promotional activities they organise comply with the Code, as indicated by the research.
The offering of gambling is regulated by a licensing system established in the Betting and Gaming Act and subsidiary regulations. Within this licensing system, gambling providers are given specific and delineated opportunities to legally offer games of chance. However, promotional games of chance are often organised outside of this legal framework, based on the Code of Conduct for Promotional Games of Chance. The Code of Conduct has no legal basis, but it does provide licensees with opportunities that they do not have under the law and their license, and these are not clearly defined. This leads to room for interpretation and uncertainty in regulations. Additionally, game types that the legislator aims to keep separate, including for addiction prevention purposes, are mixed. Scratch cards (high-risk games of chance) can be used as promotion for lotteries (low-risk games of chance), or lotteries (low risk) can be used as promotion for online casino games (high risk).
Due to the (legal) uncertainties, the Gambling Authority states that it cannot effectively supervise. An important question arises as to whether online providers are permitted to offer promotional games of chance based on the Code. Therefore, clarity is needed.
