Since it regulated its gambling market in 2021, the country has been continuously attempting to tweak its safer gambling measures to ensure that it offers sustained support for those groups that are the most at risk. Role model bans, limited advertising, and tough follow-up on enforcement have been all part of the local regulator’s playbook.

Dutch regulation holds strong as it improves the gambling environment for players

Now, the Kansspelautoriteit, which regulates the industry, has issued a preliminary report on how the measures introduced in the second half of 2024 have been impacting player health, spending and overall safety.

Although there were fears that the new measures would prove inefficient or become an easy target of work-around solutions, none of these qualms have materialized, the regulator tentatively concludes.

The survey has found out that the number of players who have been depositing in excess of pre-determined amounts that trigger stricter checks has fallen significantly from 9.7% to 3.8% in general. For young adults, the rate has declined from 12% to 2.8%, signaling that the latest changes have incentivized players to deposit more conservatively and not expend large amounts of money or break the pre-determined deposit limits.

The average loss per account has decreased to €83 the account found out, from previously €117, but players have maintained about 2.5-3 active accounts across different licensed gambling sites in the Netherlands.

According to the report, the new changes have had a positive impact. The Ministry of Justice and Security enacted these new changes and mandated that anyone who wishes to spend more than €150 as a young adult or €350 for people above that age would need to contact an operator to have these limits lifted manually.

Percentage of players who lose over €1,000 declines several-fold

In other words, there has been a strong incentive for players to stay underneath the new limits rather than jump through hoops with operators which has brought around the desired effect. Furthermore, if 4% of people lost more than €1,000 a month, the percentage of players to have done so has decreased to only 1%.

The regulator is also optimistic about the channelization rates. According to the Kansspelautoriteit, an estimated 91% of all players in the country pick a legal provider over an illegal one. In other words, the country is a good example of how strong regulation is not necessarily detrimental to the regulated industry, or players.

A common criticism of tougher gambling regulation has been the purported idea that if forced to complywith too many rules, players would simply try their luck with unregulated gambling operators.

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