A clear gaming limit of €700 per month should be introduced to better protect online gamblers from large losses and risks of gambling addiction. If outgoing Minister Weerwind and the gaming authority have their way, a set of stricter rules like these will come into force from April.
Today, a player who registers with a gambling company such as Betcity, Unibet or Toto still determines what his limits are. For example, if it sets this limit at 10,000 Euros per month, alarm bells often ring only when it exceeds this limit. There is little to no control over whether someone can afford such large expenses.
A self-imposed “gambling ban” was imposed on 60 thousand people
The Gaming Authority (Ksa) concluded at the beginning of the year that providers had failed to comply with their “duty of care” in practice by not monitoring their customers’ gaming behavior closely enough. The aim of legalizing online gambling in October 2021 was to better protect players. Since then, around 60,000 Dutch people have banned all gambling for at least six months, according to the latest figures. People often do this when they feel they cannot adequately control their gambling behavior.
In the proposed new system, businesses will need to have much more oversight: They will need to be able to spot signs of excessive gambling within an hour. They also need to contact players who want to set a game limit of 350 euros or more. It must inform the player about the risks of such betting and indicate the possibilities of help and support.
It is possible to continue playing later but this ends with a monthly deposit of more than 700 euros per account. Unless someone can prove with proof of income that they can afford such bets, they will not be able to deposit any more money that month and will only be able to play with the money in their account.
The new rules will be slightly stricter, as research has shown that young adults (aged 18 to 24) are most susceptible to gambling addiction. Tomorrow you will pay no more than 300 euros per month and the company in question will approach you with a limit of 150 euros. “Research shows that providers encourage players to bet more money than they can afford to lose,” Minister Weerwind said in a statement. “With these measures, we oblige providers to intervene earlier and give players more control over their gaming behavior.”
Limitations apply per provider
The problem with these limitations is that they are per provider. According to a Weerwind spokesperson, a change in the law is needed to determine intercompany limits. And this will probably take years. Since there are currently 27 licensed companies, if the limit is exceeded problem gamblers can create a new account on another site under the new system and still find themselves in financial trouble.
Denny Eesterman (name changed) is a clear example of this: he played with eleven different accounts and lost more than 211,000 euros in the last ten months. Some providers ultimately excluded him from participation; He heard nothing from other providers throughout the year, even after losing tens of thousands of euros there.
This caused him great financial difficulties. He got the money from his own business but eventually had to sell his house. He used the added value to pay off debts.
“Non-binding emails”
Denny hasn’t played since the beginning of this month. “I got into gambling so much because I won €38,000 in the beginning mostly playing blackjack. While it seemed like a nice extra income at first, I eventually had to admit that I was losing so much weight. “Otherwise, everything will get worse.”
He doesn’t know if he’ll get into less trouble under the new system because on paper he has a lot of money. “First of all, it would help me if there were stricter limits on large losses. But just a few weeks later I received some non-binding emails and a reminder. “Without further concrete measures being taken.”
Not controversial
The tightened rules will now be “in consultation”: Gambling companies and addiction experts can still react, among other things, to the changes before they are finally adopted. The previous House of Representatives noted that the tightening of gambling policy was not controversial and that outgoing Minister Weerwind did not need to make any concessions on the issue.
Source: NOS
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
