The Dutch Gaming Authority, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), announced that it will use the results of investigations to strengthen the duty of care in gaming halls across the Netherlands.
In December 2023 and January 2024, KSA inspectors visited 20 gaming facilities nationwide to check the implementation of the duty of care.
When recently sharing its findings, KSA noted that although most gaming halls are attentive to fulfilling the duty of care, there are still areas for improvement.
KSA stated that gaming halls have taken measures to meet the duty of care requirements in the KOA Act, including preventing and limiting gambling addiction. However, the agency emphasized, "Practice does not always fully comply with the expressed good intentions and the content of the policies."
The authorities observed that while the personal circumstances and gaming behavior of regular players are usually known, there is often a lack of actual interaction with players, registration of signals and interventions, and effective interventions in the inspected amusement parks.
Gaming halls generally consider prolonged gaming as "a concerning signal," but monitoring methods are often not adequate. Notably, none of the surveyed venues had implemented a maximum gaming time limit, which KSA stressed is "particularly important for 24-hour arcade gaming halls, as players do not have a natural 'stop time'."
KSA found that all visited gaming halls allowed playing on multiple machines and reserving slot machines. While not prohibited, these practices could lead to excessive gambling behavior.
Furthermore, some venues did not adequately monitor other excessive gambling behaviors, such as frequent and prolonged visits and numerous debit card transactions per visit.
After the inspections, the Saudi Arabian National Bank sent letters to each gaming hall outlining specific points for improvement at each venue.
The agency concluded that:
Later this year, guidance will be provided to all licensees, detailing the identified points and focusing more specifically on the duty of care in amusement venues. KSA will subsequently monitor compliance more strictly.
