Dutch top gambling regulator talks illegal gambling, notes lawmakers are catching up

• The KSA chair, Michael Groothuizen, penned an opinion piece in which he discussed the recent Annual Gambling Committee Debate
• He was enocuraged to see the issue of illegal gambling discussed more broadly among lamwakers
• Groothuizen argued that tackling illegal gambling would have to be a pan-European effort

In an opinion post on the KSA, the Dutch Gambling Authority’s website, Chair Michel Groothuizen shared his thoughts on the recently concluded Annual Gambling Committee Debate, paying attention to a wide range of topics, from the recalibration of the existing regulatory framework to the looming challenge of the illegal gambling sector, and the simple realization that the Netherlands may be out of its depth trying to tackle the sector on its own.

Groothuizen noted that he had approached the debate with a bit of skepticism, expecting the issues to centre around player protection, a gambling advertising ban, and limiting the number of licensed operators, but instead - a growing number of lawmakers actually brought up another matter - the proliferation of illegal gambling.

Illegal gambling is accurately targeted by lawmakers

Illegal gambling is an issue that is increasingly central for lawmakers in the Netherlands, with illegal websites proliferating at a steady pace, and more worryingly - half of every euro spent on gambling going to fund these operations. He also spoke against overpraising foreign gambling companies:

"Illegal gambling is, in fact, an unprecedentedly large and complex problem. Of every euro a Dutch person gambles away, half goes to the illegal market. Anyone examining this industry will see that the turnover of the global illegal gambling market exceeds the GDP of any country, except for the US and China. The public often imagines foreign companies with sound business practices that, thanks to the freedom of the internet, occasionally attract a Dutch player. We must abandon that image."

Groothuizen also welcomed the opportunity to see a stronger response to the issue, once again emphasizing the current problem as it stands: over half a billion euros are lost in taxes that haven’t been paid due to illegal gambling activity.

Groothuizen further focused on another issue, and that is that the illegal gambling market, in his opinion, specifically and purposefully targeted consumers who were already vulnerable and struggling to keep their gambling activity under control.

Illegal gambling websites reappear, fines are rarely paid

Groothuizen also accurately elaborated that despite the fines and enforcement actions issued against the sector, shutting down websites and operators was not enough, as many of those reappeared quicker than regulators could shut them down.

"And even if we know who they are and where they are located, they turn out to have established themselves in the Comoros or in other places where our long arm of the law cannot reach. Consequently, there is not much actual payment of fines," he added, noting that issuing large fines was not the same as actually being able to collect them.

"Inevitably, we need Europe to persuade such parties to cooperate with us in the fight against illegal gambling. In my view, it is naive to cling to the idea that a well-regulated legal national market and a national regulator are sufficient to tackle this problem," he further noted, arguing for a pan-European response to the threat of illegal gambling, which is already harming citizens regardless of jurisdiction.

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