Dutch gambling regulator to probe operators’ “behavioural control” over players
The KSA says the research may lead to stricter guidelines.
The Netherlands.- The Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has announced that it will launch an investigation into “negative forms of behavioural control” used to influence gamblers. It says the results of the study will be used to improve the duty of care by online providers and may lead to stricter guidelines.
The move comes after it commissioned the research agency Behavioural Insights to conduct an initial study into influencing behaviour on online gambling platforms. The KSA said that research showed that online gambling providers, like other companies, use behavioural influencing to steer consumer behaviour. It says this happens in both positive and negative ways.
Positive examples include providers giving players feedback on their gaming behaviour and offer them the opportunity to take a break, the regulator said. However, the research also shows that gambling behaviour is influenced in negative ways, for example by making it easy for new players to bet high. The regulator believes these forms of control are dangerous for players who have an addiction and who are thus conditioned to play more.
With the research, the KSA said it had gained more insight into the techniques that providers use to keep players gambling, and that it would now conduct its own study to learn more.
Michel Groothuizen, chairman of the board of the KSA, said: “At the KSA, we understand that online providers, like other commercial companies, look at what users of their platforms do and how they can steer that to their advantage. Thanks to this research, we have a better understanding of how they do this, and we can also give more direction in the area of negative management and things we no longer want to see.
”In response to the results, the KSA will start its own investigation into the negative forms of behavioural control, and the extent to which they conflict with the duty of care of providers. Stricter guidelines may also follow at a later date to limit this negative control.”
Proposed gambling reforms on the table in the Netherlands include raising the minimum age for online casino gaming from 18 to 21 and the introduction of mandatory financial tests for players who want to increase their deposit limit beyond the limits introduced by the KSA last October (currently €300 for players aged between 18 and 24 and €700 for those aged over 24).
However, Teun Struycken resigned from his position as legal protections secretary in the Dutch government, a position that gave him responsibility for gambling in the Netherlands. That leaves the future of the reforms in doubt, particularly with an early general election coming up on October 29.
