Dutch gambling regulator warns of poor practices in affordability checks
The KSA identified failings in how operators request documents to provide proof of income.
The Netherlands.- The Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has issued a general warning to operators after detecting poor practices during its assessment of how they are applying new affordability checks. The checks were introduced in October along with mandatory deposit limits for online gambling in the Netherlands.
Operators must carry out affordability checks on all players who want to deposit more than €700 a month (€300 a month for under 25s). The limits apply for each calendar month, and operators must request documents that provide proof of income. However, the KSA said that some operators’ approaches have been insufficient.
Bad practices observed by the regulator include operators accepting income statements, plausibility tests and questionnaires rather than official pay slips. It stressed: “These are insufficient to determine whether a player can bear the financial consequences of a higher deposit limit. Increasing the net deposit based on this type of information is not permitted.”
The KSA also found that some operators were not assessing the right sources of income. It stressed that not all forms of income are valid for consideration, noting that loans, tax allowances, refunds, partner or family income, inheritances, business expense reimbursements and deposits from savings accounts should not be accepted as justification for increasing deposit limits.
The regulator also warned that some operators were found to have allowed players to continue to make deposits after they reached the monthly limit. It said it had summoned the operators in question and stressed that all operators must immediately apply an automatic block after a player reaches the monthly net deposit limit.
Good practices for affordability checks
It’s not all negative, though. The regulator also flagged up cases of good practices among operators. It said some had gone above and beyond what was required. This included some operators who had decided not to allow young adults to increase their deposit limits even if they could prove their sources of funds. Some operators also provided their own options for extra daily and weekly deposit limits.
