KSA working to “undermine” illegal operator revenue model, as black market fight intensifies

Michel Groothuizen, chairman of the Netherlands’ gambling authority, wrote in a blog post today (10 April) that the regulator has been working on a project over the last few months called “undermining illegal infrastructure”.

Groothuizen stated the regulator is seeking to keep illegal operators away from popular games. It will aim to reduce illegal platform advertising on social media, while also making payments to these sites more difficult.

To achieve this, Groothuizen stated there would have to be an alliance that includes banks, payment providers and legal gambling facilitators. Cooperation will be required among “different parties to frustrate and undermine the revenue model of the illegal providers”, Groothuizen wrote.

Groothuizen noted that the Dutch watchdog had already received help and “brainpower” from some of the country’s legal providers and affiliated partners.

Reforms and tackling illegal applications

The KSA revealed earlier this week that it had successfully petitioned for 20 apps to be removed from app stores already this year.

In his blog post today, Groothuizen noted that the regulator had taken down a number of apps but added that tracing the operators behind them was “incredibly” difficult.

“We need help from ‘big tech’, app store operators do not always cooperate and this problem has grown significantly in recent years,” Groothuizen wrote.

In March, industry stakeholders presented the Netherlands government with recommendations for its pending gambling act reforms. KSA warned about the increased availability of illegal apps that are easy for vulnerable people to access.

The Dutch legislators are expected to deal with the updated gambling act by the end of this year.

An increase in the legal gambling age in the Netherlands to 21 is proposed. Higher-risk gambling products would also carry stricter advertising restrictions.

Groothuizen said today that he is pleased with the discussion around the introduction of expanded legal instruments for the KSA. However, he noted that before the legislation will have taken effect, KSA would have to wait for “at least” two years.

“So for the time being we will have to make more impact based on our current (even more limited) powers,” Groothuizen wrote.