Dutch gambling minister pledges “fundamental changes” to existing regulations 

The Dutch minister responsible for gambling, Teun Struycken, has unveiled “fundamental changes” to the Netherlands’ current gambling laws, including raising the minimum age for “high-risk” games.

Struycken, the state secretary for legal protection, deemed amendments to the nation’s gambling policy a priority after the recent evaluation of the Remote Gambling Act (KOA) produced “worrying results”. 

In a letter submitted to the right-wing coalition government and the House of Representatives, Struycken outlined the reason behind his policy amendments stem from the fact the current law “does not yet sufficiently protect people against the risks of gambling”. 

The state secretary’s letter pays particular attention to minors and young adults, and stated that since the regulated Dutch market launched in 2021, there has been a notable rise in younger problem gamblers.

As a result, Struycken proposed raising the minimum age for those participating in “high-risk” online games from 18 to 21.

While the minister did not define what constitutes as “high-risk” games, his previous comments around slots as being of that ilk would suggest the vertical would be impacted.

Stronger protections for players in the form of an “overarching deposit limit” to be enforced by all operators, was also put forward.

Additionally, all licensed operators in the Dutch market would adhere to stricter duty of care requirements, as well as a tightening of advertising rules to “severely limit the appeal of online gambling”. 

Similarly to his “high-risk” games changes, Struycken did not disclose how stricter ad rules would manifest or what would be expected of operators in a ramped-up duty of care scenario.

Furthermore, the Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) would be granted greater powers to combat illegal activity, including the ability to block all unlicensed operators.

Reflected on the changes, Struycken explained: “For me, the most important starting point is protecting all citizens from gambling-related harm.  

“In doing so, I go beyond preventing addiction and also look at other harm that participation in gambling can cause, such as debts.  

“It is necessary to protect all people, especially those who have not yet come into contact with gambling or who have stopped gambling. In doing so, I focus in particular on minors and young adults.”  

The proposed changes come after the KSA published its latest report last week which claimed channelisation was sitting at around 91%.

However, basing channelisation on turnover alone, the regulator said around 50% of spend was heading to the black market, indicating its ability to attract higher-value customers.

Since news of the proposals, the Netherlands Online Gambling Association (NOGA) issued its response to the changes, throwing its support behind Struycken’s strategy. 

Eric Konings, NOGA director, said: “The members of NOGA stand for a safe and responsible range of games of chance.

“That is why we support the idea of no longer only putting addiction prevention at the heart of gambling policy, but to strive to prevent gambling-related harm. Games of chance should be a source of entertainment, not a source of problems.  
 
“We are also pleased to hear that the fight against illegal offers is being given more priority. We have been expressing our concern about the size of the illegal market for some time.”

Konings stopped short of elaborating on the decision to raise the minimum age for those engaging with “high-risk” online games, insisting that NOGA would require more detail before settling on its stance. 

He did add that the proposals could “further strengthen the flight towards the illegal market that is currently underway”, before endorsing the government’s view that player protection is a shared responsibility among all industry stakeholders. 

It is expected that a new bill containing the changes raised by Strucyken could be drafted by the end of 2025.  

Until then, the House of Representatives has vowed to examine whether some of the suggested measures could come into effect earlier.