KSA launches vision for games of chance in Netherlands

Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) recently gave everyone a preview of how it envisages the Netherlands’ gaming marketplace of the future. In the report titled, “Market Vision for Games of Chance: Market Organization and Market Supervision from the Public Interest,” the official gambling authority of Netherlands showed everyone how they plan to effectively organize and supervise the country’s gambling marketplace with the aid of instruments like information technology, tighter regulations and licensing.

Basing its study on a detailed market analysis, and aligning it with the modernisation agenda which it initiated in the year 2011, the KSA currently sees a lot of room for the future of interesting games of chance which are being launched on a regular basis by new providers. You can go through a large variety of these games at some of the best online casinos in the Netherlands.

Report also throws light on the needed regulations

The KSA report also throws light on the regulations required in multiple gambling sectors of Netherlands, something that is necessary for the protection of consumers and to prevent chances of gambling addiction. These steps are also expected to help in combating crime and illegal gambling operations in the country.

It has been further observed that presently there isn’t much political support for a formal Dutch casino market, owing to the fact that there are many online providers already offering services to the country’s residents. However, it can definitely be reconsidered considering the fact that more and more online gambling providers are coming into the fray with time. Any such step will need to be taken in conjunction with proper market organisation and rule implementation for slot games.

As of now, there are couple of special cases when it comes to slot machines. The first is about the flexible slot machines which have the capability of changing the games’ course, introducing free games or extended playtime. Then there are ‘fair machines’ which don’t normally pay out any money to the winners, however, reward in the form of prizes like coupons or different types of goods whose value is around 40 times the amount bet by the players.

It throws light on the need of transparency in the sector

This report throws light on the possibility of gambling addiction amongst youth and young adults too, keeping in mind the lack of attention towards this aspect in the policymakers, as against the attention paid to the gambling operations per se.

It talks about how the future regulations should be focused on gambling elements of these games and their underlying risks; and how consumers should be able to clearly distinguish between games of chance and games of skill. In addition, in case of young adults, underage youth and other vulnerable sections of society, they should never be exposed to the addictive elements of these games, for instance, loot boxes etc.

The main aim is better supervision of Netherlands’ gambling market

At present, the gambling market of Netherlands is regulated under the Games of Chance Act, as well as the associated regulations. The country’s original gambling policy came into being with the aim of having only a handful of providers, with perhaps no more than one provider dedicated to one form of gambling. However, after the Gaming Authority evaluation in the year 2017, KSA was entrusted with the task of creating a market vision, focused on the primary aim of supervising the country’s gambling operations as effectively as possible.