KSA launches Duty of Care unit to ensure Dutch customers wellbeing

Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Netherlands Gambling Authority has established a Duty of Care Online department to enhance the supervision of online gambling operators’ with regards to up-keeping their  customer safeguards and protections.

The establishment of a Duty of Care Department follows KSA investigation conducted last September into ten online gambling providers regarding their interpretation of duty of care rules. The investigation revealed significant differences between the operators and identified shortcomings on the rules of the Remote Gambling Act (KOA).

Since then, the authority has amended its Responsible Gaming policy, and the expansion of supervision of an online provider’s duty of care has followed suit with the creation of the new department.

The KSA stated that the duty of care expansion includes extensive file research on providers that stand out in the control data, as well as on the basis of signals received from players.

Additionally, the department will monitor operators concerning the new duty of care and compliance policy rules. The ministry will further map the new rules, and the department will investigate other potential indicators of gambling addiction, including large losses, to better prevent problems 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.

“To implement this correctly, we need to significantly increase our capacity. With this department, we are strengthening our supervision of the duty of care and focusing even more firmly on our mission of ‘playing safe’.”

The KSA also plans to improve duty of care for land-based operations. The authority reported earlier this month that it would use investigative findings to enhance duty of care at gaming halls across the Netherlands.

Dutch gambling maintains its regulatory schedule, which this October will see further player protection measures  come into force, including deposit limits. These limits will be €300 per calendar month for players aged 18-24 and €700 per calendar month for players over 2