KSA Provides Subsidies to Six Gambling Harm Prevention Research Programs

The Dutch gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) announced that it has provided financial backing to six safer gambling projects. This move is a part of the ZonMw Prevention of Gambling Addiction research program.

As outlined in the program, the recipients of the subsidies must start the projects by February 2024. The KSA also noted that this is the first subsidy round of the research program.

The Dutch gambling regulator added that the funding for the projects in question comes from the Addiction Prevention Fund (VPF). The fund was established in 2021 and is financed by an additional fee provided by high-risk gambling operators.

Managed by the KSA, the VPF has a number of spending goals, one of which is the research of gambling harm, as well as the ways to prevent and treat it.

ZonMw Prevention of Gambling Addiction research program was launched in 2022 and is set to run through 2029. It is aligned with the Netherlands’s intense efforts to prevent problem gambling and shield consumers from gambling-related harm.

About the Six Programs

The funding has been awarded to two Amsterdam UMC projects, two Trimbos Institute projects, a University of Amsterdam project and an IVO project. The projects are as follows:

• Amsterdam UMC – Evaluation and innovation of effective CBT treatment for gambling: stepping up the game, a mixed methods study
• Amsterdam UMC – What makes them tick? Characteristics of youth that gamble, the prevalence and possible gateways to (harmful) gambling
• Trimbos Institute – Developing and testing the effectiveness of Moti-4 for gambling problems in youth
• Trimbos Institute – Applying the gambling harms framework to the Netherlands: Developing multiple indicators to support assessment of gambling harms
• University of Amsterdam – Exposure to and consequences of gambling marketing communication for vulnerable groups: a multi-method approach
• IVO – Empowering Professionals: A Design Study to Develop Guidelines to Identify and Support At-Risk and Problem Gamblers

More information about the programs is available on ZonMw’s official webpage.

The Kansspelautoriteit continues its efforts to protect the local market from harm by supporting research into gambling addiction and upholding local regulations. The body recently sanctioned a number of operators, including Betworld247, which offered an illegal gambling product; and three other companies that were found guilty of violating the Netherlands’ advertising rules.

In the meantime, the KSA prepares to part ways with chair René Jansen, who is set to depart from the authority on July 1, 2024.