Study finds just 10% of Dutch adults gambled online in the last year
Recent data reveals that only 10% of individuals aged 16 and older in the Netherlands have engaged in online gambling over the past year.
On January 29, 2024, the Scientific Research and Data Centre (WODC) released a comprehensive factsheet detailing insights from three pivotal studies into the state of online gambling in the Netherlands, a market that opened its doors in October 2021.
The findings indicate a significant disparity between offline and online gambling participation. While an impressive 64% of individuals aged 16 and older reported engaging in offline gambling activities throughout 2024, a mere 10% had placed a bet online.
In terms of offline gambling activities, lotteries dominated, with 55% of the gambling population participating in this vertical during the year. Other favored activities included scratchcards (21%) and bingo (7%). Notably, in the realm of sports betting, an interesting trend emerged: online betting surpassed offline betting for the first time, with 4% of participants wagering online compared to 3% offline.
Increasing Popularity of Online Gambling in the Netherlands
The WODC highlighted that 70% of individuals who engaged in online betting in 2024 began their activities after the market launch on October 1, 2021. This trend is particularly pronounced among younger demographics. However, the rise of online gambling poses potential risks, including addiction, particularly for younger players who may be more susceptible.
Supporting this concern, recent studies reveal that while only 1% of all gamblers (including those participating in lotteries) in the Netherlands were identified as high-risk, this figure escalated to a staggering 18% among young adults operating their own personal online gambling accounts.
Among all online gamblers with personal accounts, 11% fell into the high-risk category according to the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), a standardized tool utilized across the industry to evaluate problematic gambling behaviors. Furthermore, 10% were classified as moderate risk.
The WODC cautioned that existing policies in the Netherlands place a significant burden on players to self-regulate their gambling behaviors. This reliance could exacerbate challenges for younger individuals who already face heightened risks of addiction.
WODC’s Recommendations for Enhancing Gambling Regulations in the Netherlands
The WODC has expressed concerns that current measures aimed at preventing gambling addiction in the Netherlands are insufficient, especially amid the influx of new players into the market. Alarmingly, only 24% of online gamblers reported receiving information about their gambling behaviors via on-screen notifications in 2024, with this number dwindling to 9% when considering chat or email communications.
Furthermore, the analysis revealed that only 4% of online gamblers had temporarily excluded themselves from gambling activities, while a mere 3% had registered for an involuntary ban. The WODC discovered a significant lack of awareness among problem gamblers regarding available self-exclusion tools, such as Cruks, the national self-exclusion scheme in the Netherlands.
In light of these findings, the WODC has proposed five urgent recommendations aimed at strengthening the regulation of online gambling within the country:
- **Centralize Duty of Care**: Shift the responsibility for player protection from the gambling sector to a centralized authority.
- **Enhance Research Accessibility**: Make player data available for independent research to inform addiction prevention strategies.
- **Empower the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA)**: Augment the regulatory powers of the KSA to enhance oversight and ensure compliance among licensed operators.
- **Tackle the Illegal Market**: Advocate for stricter restrictions on unlicensed operators to protect consumers.
- **Protect Vulnerable Groups**: Intensify protections for young adults, especially concerning gambling advertising, by shifting the focus from merely preventing gambling addiction to preventing overall gambling harm.
The WODC’s proactive stance and recommendations underscore the necessity for enhanced regulatory frameworks to protect consumers, particularly younger demographics, and to address the evolving landscape of online gambling in the Netherlands.
