Dutch online gambling market “larger than previously thought”

The chairman of the Dutch gambling regulator has concluded that the market is worth more than the government had anticipated.

The Netherlands.- Rene Jansen, chairman of the Dutch gambling regulator De Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has said that the size of the Dutch online gambling market is “larger than we previously thought” following an initial report on the first two months of regulated online gambling.

Licensed online gambling in the Netherlands finally went live with ten licensees on October 2 after a series of delays.

Now able to access numbers from licensed companies rather than indirect figures and estimates from commercial data suppliers, authorities have revised upwards the estimated figure for the size of the online market in 2021 from gross gaming revenue of €580m to €814m.

Jansen said the results show that the government was wise to have legalised online wagering when it did.

He said: “Should we be shocked that the online gambling market is dealing with more money than we previously thought? You can look at that differently. For me, it says above all that the political decision to legalise and regulate online gambling was a wise one and nothing has come too soon.

“The larger the market, the more reason to protect consumers against the risks associated with games of chance.”

Citing a recent government report, Jansen added that evidence showed players were leaving illegal operators for officially licensed options.

He said: “The fact that many players switched from illegal to legal providers is good news. After all, the most important objective of the Remote Gambling Act is to channel players from illegal to legal offerings. 

“Legal providers can be supervised, so that players are assured of a fair game, correct payout and – above all – sufficient attention to addiction prevention.”

The regulated Dutch online gambling market opened with ten operators. An eleventh, JOI Gaming Limited has since been granted a licence and Jansen says there will be more licensees to come.

Several major operators began blocking Dutch players from October 1 while they make their own licence applications.

“There will be more licence holders and, partly because of this, it is too early to draw firm conclusions,” Jansen said.