The Netherlands’ gambling market is showing signs of maturity as providers turn their focus towards improving their market share, according to the chairman of the country’s regulator.
Kansspelautoriteit chief René Jansen said in his latest blog that small licensees “joining forces” to “strengthen their position” in the market, alongside larger licensees “taking over smaller licensees to get ahead of the competition,” are signs that the market is beginning to develop.
Jansen said earlier this year that the Dutch market is “levelling off” but “growing as expected.”
In his latest update, the KSA chairman added that there has been a “sharp decline” in the number of new applications in 2023 and that “we expect to see this development in 2024.”
“Instead of new growth, we see that small and large changes are taking place in the current landscape of permit holders,” Jansen said.
The changes are broadly either licensees requesting to expand their offerings to players and takeovers and acquisitions."
“This development, from mainly requests to mainly changes, shows that the market is starting to reach a certain degree of maturity,” he added.
“It is no longer so much about conquering a position, but mainly about strengthening the competitive position and increasing market share. That is a logical development in a relatively young market, but one that we are closely monitoring.
“After all, a major competitive push can also cause providers to pay less attention to crucial aspects such as duty of care. However, that attention should never, ever slacken.”
As the Dutch market matures, though, the Dutch Minister for Legal Protection is proposing a package of measures to improve player protection in the gaming market, amid a report alleging misleading practices by operators.
