The Netherlands’ gambling regulator is to unveil its redesigned self-exclusion register in January as it looks to combat addiction.
Kansspelautoriteit chairman René Jansen confirmed the news when speaking at the Amsterdam Gambling & Awareness Congress, where he also discussed other updates and changes for the country.
Jansen revealed that approximately 30,000 people are currently signed up to Cruks, Kansspelautoriteit’s self-exclusion register which allows players to avoid high-risk games of chance for at least six months.
Jansen said the redesign will “make the system more user-friendly and accessible”, adding that there will be a delay function to stop people on the Cruks register being able to “unsubscribe at the touch of a button”, instead steering them towards a “mandatory reflection period.”
Elsewhere in his speech, Jansen said there are now 24 licencees in the Netherlands following the gambling market opening last October, drawing in around 563,000 accounts – with many players making multiple accounts.
Jansen said no reliable figures are yet available for gambling addictions and that the KSA will wait for the National Alcohol and Drugs Information System to reveal such data alongside a survey carried out by the government.
The KSA has, however, launched a wide-ranging investigation into implementation of the duty of care to players, the results of which will be announced in Spring next year.
Jansen said: “We have also seen other excesses that raise questions about how providers deal with their duty of care. I am talking about excessive financial losses for players – tens of thousands of euros – in a short period of time, without any decisive action being taken by the provider concerned.”
High maximum playing and deposit limits are also under investigation, the chairman said.
