The Netherlands gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has published its latest report on the online gambling industry revealing that gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the year August 2022 to July 2023 came to €1.33 billion.
According to the report, in the six months leading up to July 2023 the market grew by 8%, a significant decline from the previous six months when GGR grew by 33%. The report notes that the drop in growth shows that the market is now leveling off since first launching two years ago.
Customer Accounts
As of July 2023, there were 826,000 active customer accounts with online gambling providers, a drop from the 859,000 active accounts recorded in January 2023. However, the KSA notes that this number does not equate to the number of Dutch people gambling online as many people have accounts across multiple websites.
The report estimates that the number of people who have gambled online in the past six months is around 676,000. This represents around 4.7% of the adult population. Approximately 417,000 people gamble online each month.
Gambling Losses
According to the previous monitoring report, online customers lost an average of €310 per month. However, the KSA noted that this did not offer a true representation of actual gambling losses across a six month period. In its latest findings, the regulator calculated that the average online gambling losses per customer for the six months from January 2023 came to €1017 which works out at €170 per month.
Licensed vs. Unlicensed Online Gambling
In 2021, the regulator set out a target of 8 out of 10 customers using legal providers only. In July of 2023 , the KSA found that this target is still being met as 93% of customers use only licensed online gambling providers, up by 1% compared to the previous six months. That jumps to 98% for new customers.
Young Adults
In July 2023, the number of young adults aged 18-24 with active customer account was 170,000. This represents 21% of all online gambling accounts, a 7.6% decrease from the 184,000 recorded in January 2023. The report also found that despite being one of the most active age groups, young adults lost less than the overall group with losses of €59 per month.
Self Exclusion
The number of registrations in the Central Register for the Exclusion of Gambling (Cruks) increased over the six month reporting period. In August of 2023 there were more than 48,000 people registered in the program. However, that number has now passed 50,000.
Gambling Industry Fines
According to the latest gambling industry fines data, Kansspelautoriteit has issued over €10.7 million in fines during the first six month of 2023. The largest fine was the €4.4 million issued to Gammix LTD.
Speaking of the latest report René Jansen, chairperson of the Gaming Authority said:
“This fifth monitoring report shows that the gaming market continues to grow, even if it is leveling off. This means that the market is developing as expected. The continued growth ensures increasing responsibility among providers. 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 behavior. Duty of care and addiction prevention are a crucial part of our supervision.”
Ciaran has been working within the Gambling Industry as a deep analyst since 2019. His deep knowledge and understanding of all the gambling regulations, and processes makes him a true asset, and an always valuable point of view for Gambling Industry News, allowing us to cover every topics from a brand new perspective.