KSA and ZonMw Renew Gambling Addiction Prevention Program

The Netherlands is doubling down on its efforts to prevent gambling harm, as the Dutch Gambling Authority (Kansspelautoriteit/KSA) announced the renewal of the Gambling Addiction Prevention program. The program is a joint effort with ZonMw, an organization that supports innovation in health, healthcare and well-being.

The Program Has Received a EUR 21M Boost

According to the KSA’s announcement, the Gambling Addiction Prevention program has received a EUR 21 million boost and will continue to run until 2030. ZonMw and the KSA will leverage this funding to bolster gambling harm prevention and treatment in the Netherlands by funding new research.

The Gambling Addiction Prevention program is structured around 5 core pillars, which include understanding vulnerable player behavior, early risk identification, intervention and treatment, lived experience, and shared understanding of harm.

ZonMw will commission various studies and will also encourage promising researchers to join the study of gambling harm.

KSA and ZonMw Vow to Address Gambling Harm

The new phase of the program was officially launched by KSA chair Michel Groothuizen and ZonMw general director Véronique Timmerhuis at a ceremony that took place on August 28.

Groothuizen described player protection as a “key priority” for his team. He said that the continued program will allow his team to gather crucial knowledge on how to best shield players from harm.

Timmerhuis, on the other hand, said that gambling addiction is a serious societal challenge that the Netherlands should address as quickly and efficiently as possible. To that end, the continued Gambling Addiction Prevention program will continue to gather crucial data on how to best implement safer gambling practices. ZonMw, which has significant expertise from other mental healthcare domains, will use that experience to seek links or similarities with other addictions.

The KSA echoes Timmerhuis’ concerns, emphasizing that gambling addiction can be associated with financial and social problems, depression, substance abuse and even suicide. Because of that, the two associations want to make gambling harm support quicker and more effective.

Gambling Minister Resigns

In other news, Teun Struycken, the Dutch State Secretary for Legal Protection, whose duties include oversight of gambling, just handed in his resignation in protest of the government’s decision not to impose sanctions on Israel amid the ongoing conflict in Palestine.

Struycken’s resignation followed those of other ministers, including the Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp.