Dutch Gambling Authority Kansspelautoriteit’s new Chairman Michel Groothuizen has stressed that “continuity and inevitability” will be at the forefront of Dutch gambling reforms, despite government changes.
Writing his first post in his new position, Groothuizen underlined his commitment to concluding the reforms of the Remote Gambling Act – the KOA – regardless of the Netherlands’ new coalition government.
Having served a full month as Chairman since taking office on July 1, Groothuizen will oversee the remaining phases of the KOA review under the new government.
KSA agents, despite governmental changes, remain in place to finalise a near three-year process to overhaul KOA laws, which helped launch the Netherlands online gambling marketplace in October 2021.
According to the Chairman: “The new ministers will also use largely the same underlying structure in the departments. And civil servants will support them, enthusiastically or not, but above all loyally, and provide them with expert advice, thereby contributing to a stable and predictable national government.
“And that is a good thing, because otherwise, much knowledge and expertise would be lost every four years, American style.”
Groothuizen gave his first address at last week’s iGB Live Amsterdam event, stating:“my words were weighed and that they were looking for deviations from my predecessor”, referring to Rene Jansen.
The new Chairman responded that continuity and predictability are the starting point for the KSA to complete its statutory duty, overseeing Dutch gambling’s inbound changes and protections.
Groothuizen, who formerly worked as a counsellor to the Ministry of Justice, claimed that he is well aware of gambling policies and regulations having worked on the development of the KOA regime.
He emphasised the importance of a regulated gambling market for player protection and highlighted the need for effective tools to combat the black market. Groothuizen expressed his surprise and frustration that the KSA does not have the authority to directly take down illegal gambling websites, a task currently dependent on hosting providers.
He stated that addressing this limitation would be a key point during the upcoming evaluation of the KOA law, while also advocating for a total ban on advertising for illegal gambling offers.
He said: “This would make our supervision much more effective. That will therefore be an important point of discussion for me during the evaluation of the Koa law later this year. A total ban on advertising for illegal offers, regardless of whether they are available to Dutch players, is also an important part of this in my opinion and I will also strongly advocate this with the new State Secretary, Teun Struycken.”
The establishment of a new online duty of care department was announced by Groothuizen, focused on ensuring online providers comply with regulations designed to protect players by mitigating large losses and enforcing the Safe Gaming Policy Rule.
Groothuizen also expressed his intent to engage with various stakeholders in the gambling sector, including land-based providers, amusement centres, addiction care institutions, and the Gambling Desk. He also emphasised that he is looking forward to immersing himself in the sector to better understand its complexities and challenges.
