Dekker Defended Holland Casino’s Player Policies in Place

The Minister for Legal Protection in the Netherlands, Sander Dekker, sided with Holland Casino and its responsible gambling practices in his written response to a Member of Parliament (MP), albeit acknowledging the fact that the casino operator does not monitor aggregate individual player losses.

A story in a local news outlet about a player who lost €250,000 while playing in one of the gambling properties of Holland Casino prompted Socialist Party MP Michael van Nipsen to send to the Minister a number of written questions seeking to receive more information regarding the casino operator’s practices.

Tracking Player Losses

On the question of individual player loss tracking and sharing the information with the customer in the form of an on-screen or printed summary, as well as any policy for flagging unsustainable gambling when spotted, the Minister replied that Holland Casino implements prevention of problem behavior but has no practice to keep track of how much each player had lost.

Since the casino operator does not keep registry of player winning or losing, it cannot provide such a summary to the customer. After all, collection of private data should be done within the limitations of privacy protection, Sander Dekker explained.

VIP Customer Treatment

Regarding VIP policies, the MP wanted to know whether Holland Casino collected information on VIP customers namely their preferences in terms of favourite food and drinks, Sander Dekker replied that the casino operator has such policies in place, but this information is collected with the player consent. VIPs are not served their preferred food or drink on arrival, but much like any other player when they order it, which is the only way for the casino to get such information.

Prevention of Addiction

In terms of Holland Casino’s addiction prevention plan and monitoring of its effectiveness, as well as obligations for the casino to refer problem behavior players to professionals, the Minister replied that the casino has a policy in place to provide extensive information about addiction treatment, but can hardly force a customer to seek treatment.

Cash Machines and Limits

On the question regarding ATMs on the gambling sites and any limits imposed, the Minister replied that players would have the same daily limits in casinos as anywhere else. Dekker outlined it is within the responsibilities of the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) to assess Holland Casino’s player protection policy.

Casino’s Resources to Protect Players

Asked about the casino’s adequacy in terms of player protection resources, Sander Dekker outlined that there is room for further improvement in the addiction prevention area, hence the new player protection requirements, including the system for self-exclusion, Centraal Register Uitsluiting Kansspelen (Cruks), in the Remote Gaming Act, which will come into force March 1, 2021.