Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the national gambling regulator in the Netherlands, has issued new guidance to land-based casinos and gaming arcades in the country about improving their approach to duty of care.
The fresh guidance comes after KSA visited venues across the county to see the measures they had in place. While most properties were using systems to protect customers, KSA said there was room for improvement.
With gaming arcades, KSA said these venues now face stricter requirements in line with the Gambling Act. Operators must prevent and mitigate gambling addiction as much as possible.
This, KSA said, includes making customers aware of the tools to help control their gambling habits. It also advised operators to ensure staff are trained and properly informed to provide duty of care support.
In addition, the regulator told operators to ensure they are running in line with requirements for self-exclusion. This includes integrating with Cruks, the national self-exclusion scheme in the Netherlands.
Duty of Care More Challenging for Casinos and Arcades
KSA Chairman Michel Groothuizen said implementing such measures can be harder for land-based operators compared to the online sector. With this, he said the guidance has been designed to make life easier for land-based gambling venues.
“Certain important factors of the duty of care are easier for online providers to monitor than in physical casinos,” Groothuizen said. “In our conversations with gaming arcade owners, we’ve noticed that they would like to do more with the duty of care, but sometimes still struggle with its proper implementation.
“With this new guidance, supplemented with informational materials for employees, we’re giving them new tools to do just that. This way, we’re working together to ensure that players are optimally protected, even at physical providers.”
