In December Struycken told the Dutch parliament he was working on updated gambling policy and planned to present this to policy makers in March this year.
The government initiated this review last year and published its findings in November. It said measures to encourage responsible gambling and protect players from harm were failing. It concluded the Remote Gambling Act had not created a sustainable and safe market in line with the legislation’s original policy aims.
In his latest update to parliament, dated 14 February, Struycken said a bill to update the regulations would be finalised by the end of 2025. Struycken said the main goal for the new gambling law was “to protect all citizens against the risks of gambling. So also people who do not (yet) gamble.”
There are ongoing discussions over whether new measures can be implemented earlier than intended, such as increasing operators’ duty of care to players and the current gambling ad restrictions.
At present operators are limited in their ability to market their brands as gambling ads are prohibited on television, radio or in public spaces whether indoors or outdoors. Online marketing is also extremely limited as brands can only market their activities to consumers over the age of 24. Influencer or celebrity marketing is prohibited.
Raising the age limit for “risky games of chance”
Struycken’s plans include raising the minimum age for participating in “risky” games of chance such as slots to 21, as well as the addition of an overarching deposit limit. Advertising rules will also be introduced to “severely limit” the appeal of online gambling.
Gambling regulator KSA imposed mandatory industry-wide online deposit limits in October. But this measure could be tightened to include a financial capacity test for those seeking to increase their monthly deposit limit.
Additionally, the KSA will be given increased powers for enforcement and supervision, as well as illegal site blocking, to counter the black market.
Struycken has also said he will seek to present the issue of illegal gambling proliferation to European policy makers to help improve enforcement from an international level.
“For me, the most important starting point is protecting all citizens from gambling-related harm,” Struycken said. “In doing so, I go beyond preventing addiction and also look at other harm that participation in gambling can cause, such as debts.
“It is necessary to protect all people, especially those who have not yet come into contact with gambling or who have stopped gambling. In doing so, I focus in particular on minors and young adults.”
Deposit limits cut 10% of operator GGR
The KSA has already introduced a number of measures to counter the rise of gambling harms in the Netherlands.
At present deposit limits are set at €300 (£255/$325) for players aged between 18 and 24 and €700 for players aged over 24.
The ministry of justice and security also made it mandatory for players to contact betting companies before they can set a deposit limit of more than €350 a month, or €150 for young adults.
An initial study evaluating the effectiveness of the measures was reported on 14 February.
In the four months since the measure was enforced, those depositing more than the required limit fell from 9.7% to 3.8% overall, while for young adults it dropped from 12% to 2.8%.
The average loss per player account has plummeted from €117 to €83, while the gross gaming revenue (GGR) of legal operators has dropped by 10% as a result of the deposit limits.
The KSA did warn though that there’s a strong likelihood that players spending more money have switched to illegal providers to circumvent the measures.
Despite that, the KSA says the channelisation rate towards legal operators is still high at 91% of total players, although it also revealed the channelisation rate in terms of money spent since the introduction of the measures is considerably lower than first estimated at approximately 50%. This has been discovered via Google search analysis for legal and illegal providers.
Therefore, while the number of players betting illegally is still low, at least half of the money lost from gambling goes to black market operators.
A new vision of player protection in the Netherlands
In January, the Scientific Research and Data Centre (WODC) in the Netherlands warned current gambling regulations in the country placed too much responsibility on players to restrict their own gambling, labelling the current measures “inadequate”.
Struycken has said in his review that special attention is being paid to minors and young adults, with the WODC’s findings warning those age categories are particularly susceptible to risky gambling behaviours and addiction.
The WODC found that while just 1% of all gamblers (including lottery) were categorised as high risk, that figure jumped to 18% for young adults with their own personal account.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/legal-compliance/regulation/netherlands-problem-gambling-measures/
