KSA vows to better protect players following duty of care investigation
Dutch regulator laments speed at which operators intervened with consumers suffering from gambling addictions
The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has called for quicker intervention by operators for players who show signs of potential gambling addiction.
An investigation into the fulfilment of duty of care into the first 10 igaming operators in the Dutch market, which opened on October 2021, has led to the KSA vowing to “tighten” its responsible gaming policy and better protect consumers.
The investigation found that several operators of casino games were unable to intervene at speed or “adequately” enough when it came to contacting players suffering from potential gambling addictions due to their monitoring systems and processes for detecting excessive gambling.
Some examples cited by the regulator showed that operators primarily focused on how much a player deposits and then bets, with insufficient consideration given to the amount of time a consumer spends playing.
Additionally, operators placed too much focus on spending limits for young players aged between 18-24 which again meant that time spent playing was overlooked. Because of the lower limits already placed on players aged between that age group, as well as the extra measures on those aged between 24-30, some problem players in these cohorts can slip through the net as they don’t get noticed by operators’ current systems.
The KSA suggested upon the conclusion of the investigation that there should be an obligation for real-time monitoring, a mandatory blocking of accounts for players with potential gambling problems until an intervention contact can be made, as well as supplementing rules on gambling indicators when assessing gambling behaviours.
René Jansen, chairman of the KSA, reiterated the Dutch regulator’s stance that player safety is a priority and that it will amend rules in order to create an even safer environment for consumers.
Jansen said: “The KSA puts safe play first. We receive worrying signals and, as a supervisory authority, we investigate providers who may far exceed the limits of their duty of care. If we notice this, we will intervene. With this research we see where, outside of these signals, providers are not doing well. Players must be able to assume that they can play safely. We see that rules need to be tightened, precisely to further promote a safe environment for players.”