René Jansen says operators have not been fulfilling their duty of care since the Netherlands’ launch of regulated igaming.

The Netherlands.- René Jansen, chair of the Dutch gambling regulator De Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has used his keynote address at the Gaming in Holland conference to press operators to work harder on fulfilling their duty of care.

He warned that operators were failing to meet their duty of care and that they would face tougher restrictions if the situation doesn’t improve, noting that “government intervention is lurking”.

Jansen stressed that the Netherlands’ newly regulated online gambling sector currently enjoys more flexibility than in some countries, with players able to set their own loss limits. However, he suggested that the government could take steps to impose mandatory limits if operators don’t uphold their responsibilities.

He said: “I dare to predict that if it turns out that operators do not take their responsibility seriously enough, government intervention is lurking.”

He stressed that operators should create risk profiles for every customer and intervene in a timely way when they identify potential signs of gambling harm. He also said that this should not be treated as a mere “administrative obligation”.

Jansen said the KSA would intensify its supervision, expanding its scrutiny of operators’ gambling harm policies to focus on their implementation.

He said: “We will not hesitate to intervene immediately if there are concrete signs that indicate that operators are not complying with the duty of care.”

Dutch regulator probes possible self-exclusion violations 

Last week, the KSA began investigating possible breaches of the Dutch self-exclusion system by land-based gaming halls. It has received complaints from players who said they were allowed to play slots despite being registered on the self-exclusion system, Centraal Register Uitsluiting Kansspelen (Cruks).

Some of those who complained said they were able to access slot halls with no issues raised, while others had their Cruks registration noted but ignored. 

According to the Netherlands’ gambling regulations, all licensees in the regulated market, both online and land-based, must check whether a player is registered on Cruks before allowing them to play. The system was launched last October on the opening of the new regulated online gambling market. The launch of the new market was held up by a day due to a technical error with the system.

Meanwhile, the KSA has announced that gambling operators will be prohibited from using any role models in adverts. The ban will come into effect from June 30.

The KSA has sent letters out to operators and advertising bodies advising them of the new rule. It said that it will monitor operators’ marketing activity to check they comply with the ban and will take enforcement action if needed.