KSA responsible gambling report sees slide in extreme losses

Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has reported a positive effect on responsible gambling as a result of the Netherlands’ revised policies. 

In the regulator’s Spring 2025 monitoring report, the KSA revealed that measures introduced in October to protect players have seen fewer players lose large amounts and the percentage of extreme losses have fallen ‘sharply’. 

Looking at Dutch gambling across 2024, gross gaming result (GSR) – stakes minus prizes paid out – came in at €1.47bn, showing a growth of 6% compared to 2023 (€1.39bn). 

GSR was 10% lower in H1 2024 compared to H2, which was attributed to the UEFA European Football Championship in June. 

Due to being considered a vulnerable group by the KSA, 18-23 year olds received extra attention in the monitoring report. The report found that this age group loses less money on average to over 24 year olds, with €48 per month lost compared to €148. 

The latter figure shows a decreasing average of losses per month for over 24 year olds in the second half of 2024, as H1 saw this figure stand at €160. 

The number of accounts with extreme losses has also fallen sharply. Before October 2024, 4% of accounts lost more than €1,000 per month, after October this stands at only 1.2%.

The younger age group also shows a stronger affinity for sports betting, with 29% of their money spent on this segment as opposed to 22% for the older age bracket. 

The number of accounts playing each month also increased in the second half of 2024, with an average of 1.19 million accounts playing each month. This is a slight increase on the 1.1 million witnessed in H1. 

It is estimated that 788,000 accounts were active with legal operators in H2, amounting to 5.4% of the adult population. This figure was 5.5% in the first half of 2024. 

New measures introduced in October are said to have increased the number of new accounts in the final quarter of 2024. This is due to players becoming able to have multiple accounts. 

Contrary to the positive statistics for the Netherlands’ gambling ecosystem, the report showed that black market activity has increased. Although 91% of gamblers use legal operators, significantly more money has been spent with illicit offerings. 

To highlight the increasing use of black market operators, the report concluded that of the total amount that Dutch people spend on gambling, 50% is spent on illegal platforms.