Kansspelautoriteit Reaffirms Commitment to Player Protection

The Dutch Gaming Authority (Kansspelautoriteit/KSA) has emphasized that the safety of players in the Netherlands will remain its regulatory focus. In line with its current strategy, the regulator vowed to continue upholding robust player protections.

Player Protection Remains the Core Priority

The safety of Dutch players was called the “most important core point” for the regulator. In its strategy for 2024-2028, the KSA resolved to give players an even more central role and introduce new policies to shield players from harm.

To that end, the KSA introduced a new responsible gaming policy in 2024, adding deposit limits to protect players. The regulator also established an Online Duty of Care Team to inform players of the risks associated with gambling.

These efforts will continue in 2025 with a new team that will be focused on preventing addiction among consumers. This team will be comprised of experienced professionals who will encourage at-risk players to seek the Cruks self-exclusion scheme. It will also run a variety of campaigns seeking to raise awareness of the risks associated with harm and the safer gaming tools players have at their disposal.

KSA Will Continue Its Fight Against the Black Market

Educating players, however, is only half the battle. Because of that, the KSA will also keep its efforts to gain more control over the illegal market.

In 2024, the KSA intensified its regulatory action against black market companies. In addition to tackling such companies directly, it also took steps to prevent Dutch influencers and media outlets from promoting illegal products.

These efforts are also set to continue in 2025 with an increased focus on dismantling the infrastructure around illegal gambling companies. The KSA will therefore continue to seek additional regulatory powers from the government, including the ability to block unlicensed websites. In addition to that, the KSA will continue to seek advertising reforms that reinforce the measures against the promotion of illegal gambling products.

The KSA, which was once confident in its ability to snuff out the black market, has come to recognize it as a much more dangerous opponent than originally anticipated. Offshore companies have been causing the growth of legal gaming to slow down, as seen in official statistics.

Data shows that in 2024, the legal gaming market experienced growth of just 4.9%, which was significantly lower than the 28.9% growth in 2023. At the same time, the number of player seats at casinos and gaming halls continued to shrink.

Some Suggested the KSA Is Going Too Far

Some have suggested that the KSA’s approach to regulation has had certain adverse effects on the Dutch gaming market.

According to an analysis by Quality Mark for Responsible Affiliates (Keurmerk Verantwoorde Affiliates/KVA), traffic to the black market has spiked since the introduction of deposit limits in October.

The KVA insisted that browser searches for “casino without Cruks” or “casino without limits” have skyrocketed from 172,576 in October 2024 to a staggering 1,009,589 in March 2025.