Netherlands illegal gambling traffic grows “significantly” following deposit limits, says KVA
The online analysis published yesterday (10 March), by the Dutch-based Quality Mark Responsible Affiliates (KVA) scheme noted that traffic to domains found by searching for “casino without limits” or “casino without Cruks”, the Dutch self-exclusion system, has steadily increased since deposit limits came into effect in October.
In October, traffic to illegal domains stood at 172,576, while in November that rose to 294,255. By February it had reached 412,997. This month, measured on 5 March, it passed the one million mark.
The number of domains linked to illegal services that appear in the top search results for “casino without limits” or “casino without Cruks” has also increased from 19 in October to 72 in March, according to KVA’s research.
The KVA is a Netherlands-based advisory board created by legal firm XY Legal Solutions that demarcates affiliate sites’ compliance with Dutch regulation.
The firm’s compliance framework is developed via the Quality Mark Responsible Affiliates (QMRA), a body that also analyses compliance among affiliates. Both bodies study monthly traffic to illegal sites using the SEO analytics tool Semrush.
On the increasing volume of illegal website traffic, the KVA has called for a considered approach to illegal online gambling regulation.
“Further restrictions on legal advertising could have an unintended adverse effect, causing players to switch to illegal platforms even more quickly,” the KVA warned.
KSA deposit thresholds
The Dutch regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), introduced a number of protection measures that came into force past October.
The rules included deposit thresholds connected to a player’s net deposit during a calendar month.
If net deposits pass €700 (£583/$777) in that month, any further deposits will be blocked for its remainder. For people aged between 18 and 25, the limit has been set at €300. Players can increase their deposit limit by providing appropriate proof of income to operators.
The regulator published a report last month (14 February) finding that those who lost more than €1,000 within a calendar month had dropped from 4% to 1% since the introduction of the new rules.
However, it has recalculated its channelisation figures. While it found that 91% of gamblers played with legal providers, it noted that in terms of value, the percentage of money lost to legal sites had dropped from 60% to 50% since October. The finding suggests that half of money lost in the market is to illegal sites.
“The introduction of the policy rules has led to a reduction in excessive gambling at legal providers,” the KSA said in its February report.
“However, there is a great chance that heavy players have switched to illegal providers, while recreational players almost all continue to play at legal providers.”