KSA’s Chairman Asks Gambling Firms to Better Protect Their Clients

Amid the growing popularity of online gambling activities, the chairman of Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Netherlands Gambling Authority, René Jansen, released a new blog post, asking licensed operators in the country to do more to protect their customers. Earlier this week, the chairman spoke about the importance of duty of care and the protection of players from excessive gambling or gambling harm.

Jansen praised the legal market in the country and explained that there would be gambling activities even if that wasn’t a part of the legal offering. He said that a legal and regulated Dutch market is far better than the “wild west” of illegal gambling operators that do not comply with any duty of care.

“Without a legal market, there was no duty of care at all. We would never have had the detailed look into the kitchen that providers have now given us. With illegal providers we often saw that basic requirements, such as proper identity and age verification, were missing.“

René Jansen, chairman of the KSA

Licensed Gambling Operators Need to Be Proactive

The chairman’s blog post comes after earlier this month, the KSA released details regarding research into the regulated gambling market in the country. The research involved 10 licensed operators that offered iGaming services since October 2021 when the Netherlands opened its gambling market.

According to the study, operators needed to do more to protect at-risk and problem gamblers as currently there was insufficient real-time monitoring and a one-sided approach in some cases. Ultimately, the research concluded that licensed operators need to dedicate more effort to protecting their customers. In light of the findings of the research, the KSA confirmed it will update its policies for player protection. At the same time, it vowed to file recommendations for changes to the gambling regulations.

Jansen encouraged licensed gambling operators to monitor the activities of their users in real-time, again in an effort to protect them. He explained that some cases of gambling harm or excessive gambling are spotted after a few days, which can cause “major financial problems in a short time.” The regulator’s chairman added: “Providers must therefore be able to see much more quickly who may be going wrong, and always be able to intervene quickly.”

In addition to urging operators to increase player protection, Jansen spoke about the ongoing efforts of operators that impose limits for young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 years. He said that the KSA welcomes such efforts to protect that vulnerable group and would like to see more operators follow suit.