KSA Claims Dutch Players Prefer Licensed Operators

One of the key markers of a gambling jurisdictions success in creating a fair, fun and profitable market for both players and operators is the region’s level of channelisation. The more local gamblers who sign up and play with licensed operators, and move away from gambling with black market providers, the greater the regional “channelisation” ratio.

The Dutch government had set itself a goal of 80% market channelisation by 1 April 2024, a very steep target when one considers that the Netherlands only introduced its Remote Gambling Act on 1 October 2021. However, as early as it may be some analysts have already predicted that the region will eclipse this goal and come closer to 90% by 2024.

 Dutch Gamblers Are Playing Ball

In a recent report discussing the state of the newly minted legal Dutch online gambling industry, Ksa Chair Rene Jansen had the following to say:

“An important preliminary conclusion is that many players who previously found their way to illegal online providers have switched to legal providers. We can see this from the web traffic that the KSA constantly monitors.”

The reason for this positive momentum in increasing player activity at licensed vendors is twofold:

1. Online casino operators are pursuing licenses and therefore no longer offering casino games to Dutch players until they are approved.
2. Dutch players prefer the safety and security of playing at entities they can trust to honour their payouts and who will transact via local banking methods.

Jansen reaffirmed the Ksa’s commitment to providing a gambling safe haven for local players stating:

“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 fact that so many operators see the value in applying for a license to do business in the Netherlands shows that the time and effort the government put into creating their regulatory framework was time well spent.

This mutually beneficial arrangement is clearly noted and appreciated by the Dutch gambling community who is showing their support for licensed brands in turn.

To date, eleven gambling operators have been approved to run online casino and online betting operations in the market including the ever-popular bet365 casino.

 New Safer Gambling Slogan

In an ongoing bid to bring about awareness of compulsive gambling and the reality that it can happen to any player, the Ksa has improved their current slogan from 'Play consciously. 18+' to the far harder-hitting:

“What does gambling cost you? Stop on time. 18+.”

This new reminder to stop and think about the real cost of your gambling on your family, your business, your peace of mind and many other aspects of life will become the status quo as of 1 April 2022.

The Ksa has let the House of Representatives know it is fully dedicated to ensuring that all licensed operators are using this warning phrase in their advertising campaigns, on their marketing materials and in their outbound customer communications by the deadline.