Dutch regulator concerned about proposed rise in online casino age limit after shock figures
New figures on channelling raise concerns that raising the age limit for online casino may push younger players to unlicensed operators.
The Netherlands.- Michael Groothuizen, chairman of the Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has called for caution after the government said it was considering raising the legal age for online slots. The state secretary for legal protection, Teun Struycken, has suggested raising the age for “riskier” forms of online gambling from 18 to 21 along with new universal deposit limits, but Groothuizen fears the move could push younger players to the black market.
Writing a response on the KSA’s website, Groothuizen said that pushing under 21s to the black market could mean more young people gambling without protective measures such as deposit limits or responsible gambling tools. He pointed out that, although the Netherlands’ decision to raise the minimum age for alcohol sales from 16 to 18 in 2014 has been successful, online gambling does not have the same physical barriers.
He wrote: “In itself, I think it is a strong signal to young people and brave of the State Secretary that he is prepared to draw a far-reaching conclusion from the evaluation of the law on online gambling: this is a risky product, and you should not just start using it. You give that warning clearly by raising the minimum age. With alcohol, we have also gone from 16 to 18 years, and since then the number of under-18s who start drinking alcohol has decreased considerably. Although there will certainly still be quite a few sixteen-year-olds who drink at home or with friends, this has nevertheless shifted the basic standard of what we find acceptable in the Netherlands.”
However, he added: “It helps that alcohol has certain barriers for young people to obtain it. You have to have someone else buy it for you, or you have to gain illegal access to a bar. But an important difference with the gambling market is that there is no beckoning, inviting, attractive illegal alternative within reach.
“To assume that raising the age limit will completely deter young people under 21 from gambling would be naive: we already see minors doing so. And for young people under 21, the illegal supply will still be accessible with a few mouse clicks, while they will no longer be able to enter legal parties, which must adhere to a strict duty of care.
“To my annoyance, that same Friday afternoon this became very clear again: under a news video from the NOS on this subject, tips for illegal casinos without age verification were eagerly exchanged. And this is where my only hesitation lies with Struycken’s policy proposal: won’t we lose many more young people to the illegal market?”
Surprise figures on channeling to legal gambling market
The chairman noted that channelling to the legal market in terms of player numbers is still high at 91 per cent. But he warned that when calculating channelling based on gross gaming result using a method provided by the Dutch Lottery, the rate was much lower than expected and has fallen to just 50 per cent since the introduction of mandatory deposit limits in October.
Groothuizen said he had been shocked by the figures and that they showed the importance of tackling the illegal market. “I felt that the state secretary takes us seriously as a supervisor,” he said. “In his plans we will (hopefully soon) be given more options to, for example, take illegal websites offline.
“Amendments to legislation are usually long-term processes, but with sufficient political pressure and social urgency, it may be possible quite quickly. In the meantime, we are not sitting still. We are increasingly focusing on undermining the illegal revenue model in order to at least discourage illegal supply, for example by working more closely with banks and payment service providers. If they no longer transfer money from their Dutch account holders to these illegal companies, the appeal of Dutch customers will certainly decrease enormously.”
However, he added: “I still believe that a healthy legal market is an important instrument to combat the illegal market. It is not without reason that more than nine out of ten Dutch online players prefer to gamble only legally. We must therefore also look carefully at new additional possibilities to protect players even better, but also be aware of the consequences of this.
“The announced overarching playing limit is, in our opinion, an appropriate step in further preventing gambling damage. But then we must ensure that this is given the simplest possible form to prevent impracticability or at least major administrative burdens on the side of providers (and on ours as supervisor). Moreover, the height of such a limit is of great importance: we see that the provider limits that we currently use (€300 and €700 per month) are quite effective, ensure that the vast majority of players play within the lines and, moreover, do not yet influence the channelling based on player numbers.”
https://focusgn.com/dutch-regulator-concerned-about-proposed-rise-in-online-casino-age-limit-amid-shock-figures