stricterregulations to combat problem gambling in the Netherlands announced
The Dutch government has unveiled a comprehensive gambling regulation update, effective from October 2024, with a strong focus on youth protection and preventing gambling addiction among young people. This new system, designed to reduce risks associated with gambling, includes strict monthly deposit limits, enhanced responsible gambling tools, and stricter marketing controls.
One of the key features of the new regulations is the implementation of monthly deposit limits. Adults will be restricted to depositing €700 per month, while young adults aged 18-25 will be limited to €300. Deposits exceeding these thresholds within a calendar month will be automatically blocked and reset at the start of each month. This change has led to a significant decline in the number of players exceeding deposit limits, with the overall figure dropping from 9.7% to 2.2%, and among young adults from 12.0% to 1.9%.
Additional deposit limits also require players to contact operators to deposit more than certain monthly amounts (€350 for adults and €150 for young adults), further preventing uncontrolled spending. Less than 50% of players now exceed these secondary limits.
To increase player awareness and encourage cessation or breaks, mandatory pop-up messages reminding players of session length and incurred losses will be displayed every 30 minutes during gambling sessions.
The Dutch government offers a range of safer gambling tools, including the ability to set time and money limits before play, voluntary self-exclusions, mandatory short breaks, and anonymous 24/7 helpline access to confidential expert counseling.
Strong age verification systems are in place to prevent underage individuals from accessing gambling sites, and marketing restrictions prohibit advertising targeting minors or vulnerable groups.
Enforcement of these measures falls under the Dutch Gambling Authority (Kansspelautoriteit, KSA), with ongoing monitoring to ensure compliance, including audits, suspicious activity reporting, and penalties for breaches.
The regulations also include a ban on all untargeted gambling advertising and sponsorships in public spaces and sports since mid-2023 through 2025, with the aim of reducing exposure of vulnerable groups to gambling promotion.
It's worth noting that the Thrombus Institute, an institution specializing in gambling addiction, is being sought to help improve gambling laws in the Netherlands. However, the Dutch government is not mentioned to be involved in any other aspects of Dutch gambling regulations apart from those related to the Thrombus Institute's expertise.
The educational outreach in schools, aimed at preventing gambling addiction among young people, is not mandatory for all schools in the Netherlands. The Dutch government has not specified how the educational outreach will be conducted in schools, and it's not clear if the educational outreach will be focused on specific age groups within schools.
The Dutch government's emphasis on youth protection in gambling regulations is a unique aspect not found in German regulations. However, the Dutch government has not announced any penalties for violating the underage gambling laws.
These regulations, combined with the Remote Gambling Act and other regulatory frameworks, aim to reduce gambling addiction risks by combining financial safeguards, behavioral interventions, youth protection, and stricter marketing controls. Initial results suggest a 31% reduction in player losses since coming into effect, though regulators continue to monitor potential offshore gambling as a risk.
[1] Kansspelautoriteit (2023). Annual Report 2022. Retrieved from https://www.kansspelautoriteit.nl/sites/default/files/2023-02/jaarverslag-2022_0.pdf [2] Kansspelautoriteit (2023). Responsible Gambling. Retrieved from https://www.kansspelautoriteit.nl/thema/verantwoord-gokken [3] Kansspelautoriteit (2023). Enforcement. Retrieved from https://www.kansspelautoriteit.nl/thema/controle-en-sancties [4] Kansspelautoriteit (2023). Market Monitoring. Retrieved from https://www.kansspelautoriteit.nl/thema/markt-monitoring [5] Kansspelautoriteit (2023). Remote Gambling Act. Retrieved from https://www.kansspelautoriteit.nl/thema/remote-gambling-wet
- Germany is yet to implement similar comprehensive gambling regulation updates as the Dutch government, particularly focusing on online casinos, with strict deposit limits, responsible gambling tools, and marketing controls, similar to the casino-and-gambling legislation in the Netherlands.
- Amidst the ongoing debate on gambling-trends and policy-and-legislation in the field of politics and general-news, the Dutch government's emphasis on youth protection in gambling policies, such as the Remote Gambling Act, has sparked interest across Europe.
- While the Dutch government has focused on implementing stricter regulations for online casinos, it has not made mandatory educational outreach in schools about gambling awareness and prevention a requirement, unlike some other countries that are part of broader discussions on gambling-trends and policy-and-legislation.
