The chairman of the Dutch regulator says it is “on track” with its objective of directing at least eight out of every 10 players to legal gambling routes.
Kansspelautoriteit’s 2022 report estimates that more than 85 per cent of online players gamble with legal providers.
Chairman René Jansen said in his reflection of the first full year of online games of chance in the Netherlands: “I note that we are at least on the right track with one important goal. The political objective of the Koa Act was that three years after market opening, at least eight out of ten players would be playing with a legal provider.
“We estimate that 85 per cent of online players now gamble with legal providers. To a large extent, they also played online before, but illegally.”
Jansen also praised the work of the KSA in “setting the bar high” over its handling of permit applications in the Netherlands, with an average of one in three applications leading to a licence and a total of 24 having been issued so far.
“I believe that setting these high standards is an important condition for a permanently reliable and safe online gambling offer,” Jansen said.
The KSA handed out a record sum of fines in 2022, reaching €29.7m and has had to intervene on a number of advertising campaigns deemed unsuitable.
Jansen said there was a “deluge” of advertising for online gambling in the first months of the market opening, with a ban on untargeted advertising subsequently coming down the track.
The KSA has extended its investigation into duty of care by licensees, which Jansen said will be completed “before the summer” and will provide “further guidance for our approach.”
