KSA Conducts Research into Effectiveness of Player Protection Rules Introduced in H2 2024

The Dutch Gaming Authority (KSA) has again conducted research into the effectiveness of the various rules that were introduced in the second half of 2024 to better protect players in the online gambling market. The first study showed that the new rules had an effect: the number of high losses per account decreased. The second measurement shows that this positive effect continues. The channeling based on players (the share of players who play with legal providers compared to illegal ones) has also not decreased significantly.

The Ministry of Justice and Security made it mandatory for players to contact the provider before they can set a deposit limit of more than €150 (young adults) or €350 per month, so that providers can inform them of the dangers of such a high limit. The introduction of this mandatory contact moment has caused the number of players who set a high deposit limit to drop to less than 50%.

The limits on net deposits are also effective. When depositing more than €300 (young adults aged 18-24) or €700 (24 and older), the provider checks whether a player can afford that amount and if this is not the case or the check is not carried out, the provider must block deposits for the rest of the month. The percentage of players who deposit more than the deposit limits (€300 for young adults aged 18-24 or €700 for 24 and older) has further decreased from 9.7% to 2.2%. In the previous measurement, this was still 3.8%. For young adults, this percentage decreased from 12% to 1.9%. In the previous measurement, this was still 2.8%.

The lower deposit limits have also reduced the average loss per player account by 31%, from an average of €116 per month in the eight months before the introduction to €80 per month in the eight months after the introduction. The number of accounts that an average player has (2.4) has hardly changed. So there is still no evidence that players have started playing with more different providers in order to be able to spend more money across the board.

The gross gaming result (BSR, stake minus prizes paid out) of legal providers has decreased by 8% compared to a year earlier. Before the introduction of the rules, approximately 4% of players lost more than €1000. Now that is 1%. This shows that the introduction of the policy rules ensures that excessive gambling occurs less with legal providers. However, there is a chance that heavy players now play with illegal providers.

The channelling based on players remains high: 93% of players only play with legal providers. In addition to the channelling of players, the KSA also looks at the channelling in terms of money. This has not yet been included in the follow-up report for technical reasons. The search volume of the top 100 illegal websites does show an increase. This could indicate a growth of the illegal market. In the impact assessment on the increase in the gambling tax, which will be published in July, the KSA expects to publish the figures on the channelling in terms of money.