Dutch regulator reveals 1% of players contribute 43% of all GGR

The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has reported that just 1% of players account for 43% of total Dutch market gross gambling revenue (GGR)

The study, commissioned by the KSA, explored “risky behaviour” shown by players, as well as evaluating at what stages operators intervene and whether those interventions are effective. 

The report used pseudo-anonymised data from 25 different licensed operators between October 2023 and September 2024 and found that 1% of customers accrue losses of more than €2,500 per month, and those customers are responsible for 43% of all GGR. 

More than 10,000 player accounts per month accumulate losses of $2,500, which is the median net income in the Netherlands. 

Young adults, aged between 18 and 23, are identified as a group at risk of gambling-related harm, with the group’s monthly losses on mean average sitting at €63.  

The average monthly loss for Dutch players is €137, with 68% of accounts losing €100 or less each month, equating to around 700,000 accounts.

The regulator also said 6.4% of accounts, or 66,000 accounts, lose more than €700 per month.

However, the KSA report also noted that 1% of young players are responsible for 33% of all young adult-derived GGR.

The KSA said: “This implies that operator earnings are highly dependent on a small proportion of their players.”

While the KSA acknowledged that betting large sums of money is a potential marker of gambling harm, the governing body stressed the need to detect other behavioural patterns that could indicate problem-gambling, such as playing time, number of deposits per day and night-time gambling. 

The study identified five categories to be analysed further: intensity, loss of control, increase in gambling, operator behaviour and feature of the games. 

The report found that 7% of players made more than 10 deposits per day, while 32% of players made no more than one deposit per day each month.

In terms of increased gambling over time, the regulator said more players have a significant decrease in playing days versus increases each month.

Gamblers who have less control over their own betting habits more commonly play at night, most notably between the hours of midnight and 6am.

The KSA said this behaviour is more common among players engaging with igaming as opposed to online sports betting.

Night-time play is defined as players who have “participated in gambling for five or more nights or who lost more than €300 at night”.

When it comes to operator behaviour, as per KSA regulations, all operators are required to respond to markers of harm with what is defined as “appropriate interventions”. 

However, there are “major differences” in how operators report respective interventions, with some only reporting the most severe interventions, making it difficult to determine at which point companies should look to intervene in a player’s betting habits. 

In turn, the KSA outlined its plans to use this data as a foundation for change, urging all licensed operators to be more open about intervention thresholds and methods, which will allow a higher standard of supervision and reduce the rate of problem gambling. 

The regulator noted that being able to track betting patterns of players across multiple operators would enable clearer insight, having estimated that nearly half of players within the legal market hold accounts with more than one bookmaker. 

The KSA confirmed it plans to examine the prospect of stricter rules for interventions, potentially by revising the definitions of when an operator must intervene.