Arno Rutte, the newly appointed secretary of state for legal protection in the Netherlands, submitted a handful of new studies to the Dutch parliament this week to support the government’s gambling reform plans.
Rutte, who presented four reports covering player activity and mandatory player limits, to parliament on 17 December, is overseeing changes to gambling regulations in the Netherlands. He recently took on the responsibility after former minister Teun Struycken resigned in August.
Struycken had pledged to deliver a new gambling bill by the end of 2025, including stricter rules around marketing and a potential increase to the minimum age for online slots. Rutte said in his letter this week that he was committed to the reforms and the new studies would be used to support the change.
Also proposed were an overarching deposit limit and new rules on advertising to “severely limit” the appeal of online gambling. “I will incorporate the results of these studies into the development of the announced measures for the revision of the legislation and regulations regarding remote gambling,” he said.
Consumer support for mandatory player limits
Looking to the first report, this focused on mandatory limits with gambling, following up on a study that took place in 2023. Overall support for such limits among 1,507 respondents increased from 76% two years ago to 82%.
The report, published in October, made reference to proposed rule changes, including means-tested limits – whereby users would be required to share financial details to set higher deposit limits. The measure was largely unpopular, with 42% raising concerns over privacy.
Up to 9% of players surveyed were reluctant to share information about their savings while 38% refused to share information about their financial debts. High-risk players (32% in favour) are more positive about sharing financial information than non-problematic (18%) and low-risk players (15%).
Despite the resistance, a majority of players (55%) say they believe that checking their financial information could, in principle, help prevent gambling problems.
More players set optional limits in 2024
There was more support for an umbrella deposit limit, with 58% showing positivity and 67% saying it could help prevent gambling problems. However, support was lower among high-risk players.
However, only 40% said monetary limits help them spend less, while 30% said time limits reduce their play time. On the other hand, 64% said their gambling behaviour was under control and they did not need limits, up from 57% in 2023.
The study also noted how behaviour and pattens differed between groups. High-risk and moderate-risk players were less likely to feel in control and more likely to see value in limits. In contrast, non-problematic players were more confident they did not need limits than high-risk players.
Compared to 2023, more players set optional loss limits while fewer selected the least restrictive limits. Some 71% of players did not change their initial limits after setting them, with 57% not reaching any of their limits in the past year.
As for changing rules, there was a mixed response to new measures that have already been put in place. Only 10% of respondents reported actual contact with providers or having to send financial information. Players reported seeing pop-up notices more but most did not find these messages helpful.
Uncertainty remains over legality of gambling websites
The second study presented to parliament covers the perception of gambling among people in the Netherlands. Key findings in the November report included that 69% of people aged 16 and over in the country had gambled at least once in the past year. This was based on the responses of 3,366 people.
Lotteries remained the most popular form of gambling although participation in iGaming was higher than in previous years, especially among younger people. The share of people playing online climbed from 10% to 12%, with the rate for those aged 16-17 jumping from 12% to 20%.
This latter statistic, the report said, was of particular concern, with the legal age of iGaming in the Netherlands set at 18. The study said this suggested that more younger people were using illegal sites, or other people’s accounts, to gamble.
Also on the subject of legality was an uncertainty over licensed websites. One quarter of all respondents were unsure whether the websites they used to gamble held a licence.
In addition, when it came to risks associated with iGaming, only half of players reported seeing information about these risks while playing. With this awareness being classed as generally low, the study recommended improvements with highlighting gambling risks.
Differing views on gambling advertising
The third study, released in December, offered an overview of the current state of gambling advertising. In July 2023, the Netherlands implemented a ban on gambling ads through most media channels including on television, in radio and in print.
In July this year, the ban was extended further. It now also covers gambling sponsorship for sports clubs and competitions. Additional measures could also be put in place under the new, yet-to-surface bill.
The study highlighted how many players said they still see gambling ads regularly despite the wide-scale ban. Of the 1,026 people surveyed, most said gambling ads do not directly cause them to start gambling, although existing players, especially those deemed to be at moderate or high risk, were more sensitive to ads.
Also flagged was how bonuses and promotional incentives make gambling more appealing, especially to those playing. In addition, most people said warning texts included in adverts are either not noticeable or are ineffective in their current form.
Concerns over research methods
The final study, published in October, covered the research used to gather player data and whether improvements were required. Here, the primary conclusion was that current methods fall short, noting a series of legal, technical and organisational barriers.
Current limitations include limited access to data, with operators only required to provide certain information when requested. There were also concerns that data is not linkable as operators present information differently, making an overall analysis difficult.
It also flagged issues such as data protection laws, including European GDPR, and that data collection from operators relies on voluntary cooperation.
Proposed solutions include improving the bilateral approach with greater involvement from regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), a potential decentralised technical platform for safe data sharing and appointing a new, central intermediary to facilitate data sharing.
Rutte said proposals and findings across the four reports would be taken into consideration when forming new regulations. This will be in addition to recommendations from other research pieces.
In October, Rutte presented another five recent reports on gambling to parliament, including the KSA’s recent piece on the impact of tax increases. The latter set out proposed changes to regulation on Dutch slots, with many rules on land-based slots having not been updated since 2000.
Reports covered gambling participation, mandatory player limits, advertising and industry research.