WORLD TRADE G/TBT/Notif.97.432
22September 1997
ORGANIZATION
(97-3852)
Committee onTechnical Barriers toTrade
NOTIFICATION
Thefollowing notification isbeing circulated inaccordance withArticle 10.6.
1. Member toAgreement notifying: NETHERLANDS
Ifapplicable, name oflocalgovernment involved (Articles 3.2and7.2):
2. Agency responsible: Ministry ofJustice
Agency orauthority designated tohandle comments regarding thenotification canbe
indicated ifdifferent from above: National Enquiry Point
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X],2.10.1 [],5.6.2 [],5.7.1 [],other:
4. Products covered (HSorCCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICSnumbers maybeprovided inaddition, where applicable):
- Equipment usedfortheparticipation, pricing anddetermination ofwinners of
casino games, suchas,forexample, acard-shuffling machine oraroulette table
(Article 7).
- Gambling machines intended forcasinos (Article 8).
5. Title, number ofpages andlanguage(s) ofthenotified document: 1996 Casino Games
Decision (Available inEnglish)
6. Description ofcontent: Article 1oftheBetting andGambling Actprohibits the
organising ofgames ofchance without alicence. Alicence hasbeen granted inthe
1996 Casino Games decision fororganising casino games inaccordance withArticle 27h
oftheAct. This Decision regulates which games ofchance canmade available at
casinos andwhat regulations suchgames ofchance andtheorganising thereof underlie.
TheDecision makes reference totheGaming Machine Regulation. According tothe
Dutch government, theCasino Games Decision probably contains technical regulations
within theAgreement onTechnical Barriers toTrade. Anindicative summary ofthese
regulations canbefound below:
./.G/TBT/Notif.97.432
Page2
6. Description ofcontent: (cont'd)
- Article 7specifies thatthemechanical, electrical andelectronic processes which
areinvolved intheparticipation, pricing anddetermining ofwinners aresubject toprior
approval andperiodical inspection byanindependent expert orinspection institute
appointed bytheMinisters forJustice andEconomic Affairs inorder toguarantee the
character ofchance. Inspection requirements arenotspecified. Thetypeofequipment
usedisirrelevant, aslongasthecharacter ofchance isguaranteed.
- Article 8specifies thatacasino mayonly comprise gambling machines, the
model ofwhich meets certain regulations. Inaddition, Article 6oftheGaming
Machines Regulation hasbeendeclared applicable. TheGaming Machines Regulation
contains technical specifications forgaming machines.
7. Objective andrationale: Insofar astheDecree contains technical barriers totrade, these
arejustified toprotect theplayers against fraud andabuse (lawandorder andconsumer
protection). They arealsojustified forgambling machines toprotect theplayers against
excessive andproblematic game behaviour (public health).
8. Relevant documents: Thefollowing documents areimportant forevaluating ofthis
Decision:
- Article 1andArticle 27hoftheBetting andGambling Act;
- theGaming Machines Regulation;
- theexplanatory notetotheoriginal Decision; and
- English translation ofArticle 7and8oftheDecision.
9. Proposed dateofadoption: 1November 1997
Proposed dateofentry intoforce: 2November 1997
10. Final dateforcomments: 31October 1997
TheNetherlands willproceed toimplement theproposed measure after45days
ifnocomments orrequests forextension ofthetimelimithavebeenreceived from other
Members within thattime.
11. Texts available from: National enquiry point [X]oraddress andtelefax number ofother
body: