Eric Konings: “There is no need to jump to dramatic conclusions”

We recently spoke with Eric Konings, Serving Director of the Netherlands Online Gambling Association (NOGA), about the latest developments in the Dutch gambling market, particularly in terms of responsible gambling. Konings offers a pragmatic view, arguing against alarmist reactions to recent data while raising concerns about the ease of access to the illegal gambling market and the challenge of addressing gambling addiction, and specifically the lack of enough data as to what the main driver of addictive behavior in the industry is. Read our full conversation below

Q: You have recently issued a warning about the number of people undergoing gambling addiction treatment in the Netherlands. Are we seeing an upward trend in the number of enrollees, and if so – is this because of the market doing more to connect problem gamblers with treatment options per se?

Last year, a downward trend was reported. At the time, we stated this was no reason to celebrate, as the stats lack certain detail and since we learned from health care professionals it takes 5 to 7 years before am addiction becomes visible. Hence, the reported increase this year is no reason to jump to dramatic conclusions.

Q: You mention that it takes for addiction 5-7 years to become visible – considering this, what long-term strategies do you think regulators and operators must adopt to detect and intervene in the cases of people who are developing addictive behavior?

There are various steps we can take together. For instance, we are currently contributing to a process on standardization of markers of harm, which will help the early signaling of potential problematic gambling. This helps making the framework as robust as possible.

Q: Who is responsible for driving people to addiction or problem gambling behavior? Is this something uniquely tied to the black market or do operators in the country operating under a KSA license have something to do with it as well?

That is exactly the piece of information that is missing in the reports, and that we are concerned about. According to KSA figures, the channelization is slipping a bit, but the indications we have from other sources is that the illegal market is growing rapidly in popularity.

This could be due to the accumulation of policy changes over the last few years, and as such we fear the entry into force of a new set of rules on Oct 1. Dutch customers leave the legal market to go and play elsewhere is the worst case scenario, for instance because of the lack of duty of care.

Q: How easy is for consumers to make the "switch?" Are there that many offshore operators that continue to target the Netherlands despite the explicit prohibition to do so, and conversely – do you see current deterrents as efficient?

It’s ridiculously easy and attractive to switch to the illegal market. The illegal product is very competitive, customers are serviced in their own Dutch language, and there are no intrusive duty of care measures that these operators use.

Only recently, it was reported for instance there are many illegal operators actively targeting consumers registered in our central exclusion register, Cruks. No less than 270 thousand Dutch visitors find their way to these sites per month, via Google. The biggest illegal operators attract more traffic than some Dutch licensed operators. With the increasing demands on the legal market, the move to the illegal market will only be amplified.

Q: Is the current consumer protection climate in the Netherlands sufficient to address the need of problem gamblers?

We are of the position it is indeed, but we need to make the illegal offering less accessible. It is shockingly easy for Dutch consumers to go online and play without registration at illegal operators, offering full service in Dutch language, attractive bonuses, high odds and fast pay-outs.

Q: Could you outline what NOGA believes ought to change right now to ensure that consumers are better protected? For example, what specific actions should the Dutch government take to make the illegal gambling market less accessible and less attractive to players?

It’s all about a combination of having a competitive, attractive but safe offer in the legal market on the one hand and strict enforcement on illegal offering. This requires on the one hand the legal market is allowed to compete and not overregulated. Simultaneously, to stop illegal gambling, we could look into the platforms that guide Dutch consumers to the illegal market and make money off this. Furthermore, we could also look at the money streams and stop them.

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