KSA chair says new Dutch rules could push young people to black market

Michel Groothuizen has claimed it is “naïve” to think new age restrictions on “high-risk” gambling verticals will be sufficient protection for younger Dutch consumers.

The chair of the Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) was reacting to new proposals put forward by the Dutch minister responsible for gambling, Teun Struycken, which were made public late last week.

The changes to the Remote Gambling Act (KOA) included raising the minimum age limit for players of “high-risk” games from 18 to 21.

Struycken did not disclose which games were deemed to fall under that category, though previous comments from the minister suggest slots could be impacted. 

Other proposed changes include stronger player protection via an “overarching deposit limit” to be enforced by all operators, stricter duty of care requirements and tightening advertising rules to “severely limit the appeal of online gambling”. 

Groothuizen has since had his say on the amendments, throwing his support behind a majority of Struycken’s changes in his most recent blog post.

Focusing on the age change for certain verticals, Groothuizen described the decision as “brave” and sends a “strong signal” to young people.

However, the KSA chair harbours some reservations about how impactful the law change will be and has detailed concerns that it could lead to a spike in black market activity from an already vulnerable age group. 

“To assume that raising the age limit will completely deter young people under 21 from gambling would be naïve: we already see minors doing so,” Groothuizen remarked. 

“And for young people under 21, the illegal supply will still be accessible with a few mouse clicks, while they will no longer be able to enter legal parties, which must adhere to a strict duty of care.”

Groothuizen noted the latest KSA data that put Dutch channelisation based on turnover alone at 50% since last October. Channelisation based on player accounts is 91%, as per the regulator.

“Effectively tackling the illegal market is therefore extremely important,” the KSA chair added.  

“Not only because this market may become more interesting for players due to stricter regulations, but also because the amount of money involved is much larger than previously assumed and continues to increase.” 

Groothuizen continued: “I still believe that a healthy legal market is an important instrument to combat the illegal market. It is not without reason that more than nine out of 10 Dutch online players prefer to gamble only legally.  

“We must therefore also look carefully at new additional possibilities to protect players even better but also be aware of the consequences.”

Addressing other aspects of Struycken’s policy changes, Groothuizen insisted that the deposit limit is an “appropriate step” and that he hopes the changes will improve the KSA’s regulatory powers.

He said: “The KSA will soon have new possibilities to improve its supervision and to put the player even more central when the proposals become reality.

“We will use these to guarantee the safety of the player on a fair, legal market and to ensure that illegal parties do not stand a chance in our market and do not even want to show up there.”

It is believed that a new bill consisting of Struycken’s changes could come into effect as soon as the end of 2025.  

Earlier this month, Groothuizen told EGR that the Dutch gambling sector has “very few friends” in the right-wing coalition government, which includes Struycken.  

Last October, LiveScore Bet surrendered its licence in the Netherlands, while Flutter-owned tombola previously did the same and exited the country.