Ksa Applauds the Flattening Growth Curve of Dutch Online Gambling in 2023

While every industry would love to see unfettered growth in customer interest and revenue generation, that is not the ideal scenario for the online gambling sector. The reason is that games of chance require customers to be of legal gambling age and be gambling safely and responsibly.

René Jansen, chairman of the Gaming Authority, said:

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“This fifth monitoring report shows that the gaming market continues to grow, even if it is levelling off. This means that the market is developing as expected.”

The Dutch Gambling Authority (Ksa) released its review of gambling in the Netherlands, and it shows that account sign-ups and other important metrics are beginning to flatten in 2023, pointing to a maturing market.

Active Unique Player Numbers Soften

According to the Ksa report, online gambling in the Netherlands has continued to grow over the past six months, with cumulative gross gaming revenues of €1.33 billion between August 2022 and July 2023. However, there was a marked reduction in growth from the first six months of the period to the last six months.

The regulator added that the number of unique active players is also beginning to stabilise after only two years of legal online gambling. The number of casino accounts showing activity dropped from 859,000 to 826,000 over six months. However, this is not an accurate indicator of active gamblers, as players can hold multiple accounts.

Their research suggests that the number of unique Dutch gamblers is closer to 676,000, with approximately 417,000 actively wagering any given month.

Market Channelisation Peak in 2023

Much of the stabilisation of active players and concentrated income generation is thanks to the country’s phenomenal channelisation rates. According to the data gathered by the Ksa, 93% of Dutch gamblers play exclusively at licensed online casinos.

Of the players who only opened their first account post the regulation of the Dutch market, 98% play with sites licensed by the Gambling Authority.

With such incredible market channelisation, it is easy to see why there will be fewer accounts, a stable number of active players, and gaming revenues that are growing incrementally, not exponentially. All positive signs of a strong and well-managed gambling jurisdiction.

 The Power of Self-Exclusion Tools

A real feather in the Ksa’s cap has been its excellent self-exclusion program, Cruks (Central Register for the Exclusion of Gambling).

Commenting on the role the Ksa plays in responsible gambling, Jansen said:

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“The Ksa continues to strictly monitor that Dutch players can gamble in a safe market, with sufficient attention to addiction prevention and insight into possible problematic gaming behaviour. Duty of care and addiction prevention are a crucial part of our supervision.”

The report detailed that the number of Dutch residents who had voluntarily used the Cruks program surpassed 50,000. Of these, it was found that 19% of Cruks sign-ups use it to take 6-month breaks, while 27% have used it to be removed from gambling advertising for five years.

The balance of the accounts uses the program to permanently opt out of all legal Dutch gambling, online and offline, allowing them to get the help they need to address their compulsive gambling challenges.

 Restrictions on Advertising Roll-Out

To further encourage safer gambling, 1 July saw the Gambling Authority begin to enforce restrictions on gambling advertising in the country. The first significant limitation was placed on above-the-line media like television, print, and radio, as it is nearly impossible to guarantee that only people of legal gambling age will see the ads.

Program sponsorships, which were in place before the restrictions were announced, will be allowed to continue until 1 July 2024.