The Dutch gaming authority, Kansspelautoriteit, has established a Duty of Care Online department to improve the supervision of online gambling operators’ duty of care.
The KSA noted that the creation of a Duty of Care Online department follows an investigation conducted last September into ten online gambling providers regarding their duty of care interpretation. The investigation revealed that there were “too many differences between providers” as well as shortcomings.
Since then, the authority has amended its Responsible Gaming policy, with the supervision expansion of an online provider’s duty of care now following suit with the creation of a new department.
The KSA stated that the duty of care expansion includes “extensive file research at providers that stand out in the control data, and on the basis of signals received from players”.
In addition, the department will monitor operators regarding the new duty of care and compliance policy rules. The new rules of the ministry will be “further mapped” and the department will investigate other potential indicators of gambling addiction, including large losses, so that “problems can be better prevented in the future”.
Michel Groothuizen, Chair of the KSA, commented: “In our annual plan and the Supervisory Agenda 2024, we have made it very clear that compliance with the duty of care is an important and urgent priority.
“In order to implement this in the right way, we need to significantly increase our capacity. With this department, we are strengthening our supervision of the duty of care and we are focusing even more firmly on our mission of ‘playing safe’”
The KSA has plans for duty of care improvements for land-based operations too, as the authority reported earlier this month that investigative findings would be used to enhance the duty of care at gaming halls across the Netherlands.
Further player protection measures will be enforced later this year in October as well in the form of deposit limits. These deposit limits will be €300 per calendar month for players aged 18-24 and €700 per calendar month for players over 24.