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The head of the Dutch gambling regulator continues to refine market regulation, promising advertising fines and collaboration on duty of care, but faces a backdrop of political vitriol so potent it threatens to eliminate the entire licensed market.
“I don’t expect smooth sailing in 2025,” said Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) chairman Michel Groothuizen, addressing an audience of Dutch industry executives.
Political vitriol towards gambling is at its most intense in history, Dutch experts say, with numerous motions filed by politicians calling on the government to take punitive action against the industry.
At their most extreme, they include demands that the open licensing market be scrapped, plunging the Netherlands back into the closed system it took more than ten years to emerge from.
Groothuizen made it clear that, for his part, he is advising his paymasters in the Ministry of Justice of the value of a regulated online gambling market, and has even cautioned against other measures, such as the increase in tax rates that came into partial effect from the start of this year.
The KSA chairman was speaking at the 20th edition of an annual gathering of the Dutch industry in Amsterdam, in what has become the traditional first major speech of the year for the head of the Dutch gambling regulator and, for Groothuizen, his first since taking up the post six months ago.
As it enters its third decade, the host of the event has changed. The traditional host, law firm Kalff Katz & Franssen, has been dissolved, now replaced by Franssen Tolboom, a boutique gaming and gambling firm headed by Dutch gambling law doyen Justin Franssen, his law partner Frank Tolboom and legal director Alan Littler.
Making the keynote speech at this rebadged event, Groothuizen indicated that despite the ill political winds at his back, his organisation will continue to push forward with regulatory action.
That includes a "hefty fine” for a licensed operator for breaching advertising regulations that will be announced in the coming months.
The KSA has also instituted a new policy to name and shame any operator that receives an official warning, “to give the warning greater weight”, he said.
Under its new leadership, the KSA is also taking a gentler approach to duty of care failures.
As Groothuizen took charge of the KSA, the regulator was creating a “duty of care unit”, soon followed by new responsible gambling rules that include a version of affordability checks.
“The unit has already had several conversations with operators about matters we find undesirable or would like to see done differently, and we're fortunately seeing that practices are being immediately adjusted after these conversations," Groothuizen said.
“That's also what I want to focus on more: directly addressing undesirable behaviour in order to end this as quickly as possible.”
The KSA will also continue efforts to hamper the illegal market, Groothuizen said, particularly targeting brazen advertisements regularly aimed at Dutch consumers.
Recent controversial ads for unlicensed gambling services have been seized on by the Dutch media and linked to an increased risk of suicide from problem gambling.
Groothuizen revealed that even he had been confronted with these ads, while studying Italian on the language app Duolingo.
“This kind of repugnant behaviour must stop immediately, and I'm committed to taking these assholes down.
“We're not only tackling the illegal operators themselves but also all their accomplices, promoters, hosting parties and payment service operators,” he pledged.
Many of the KSA’s fellow regulators are turning to suppliers in an attempt to pressure the black market.
Jurisdictions such as Michigan and Romania are ramping up disclosure, while Sweden and the UK are leveraging enforcement to restrict companies that sell to both on- and offshore operators.
Asked by host Justin Franssen if the KSA still supports the concept of B2B licensing, Groothuizen gave a cautious thumbs-up to the idea, but noted that this had not formed part of any discussions with lawmakers since he took office.
