One in ten Dutch adults gambled online in 2024, according to a new study.

One in ten Dutch adults gambled online in 2024, according to a new study.

 According to recent statistics, only 10% of Dutch adults have gambled online in the past year.
 Bets placed in the Netherlands
 A factsheet revealing the results of three recent studies on Dutch online gambling was released on Wednesday (29 January) by the Scientific Research and Data Centre (WODC) in the Netherlands. The investigations were conducted in the country and began in October 2021.

 The investigations, which span different time periods in 2024, found that only one in ten Dutch adults had bet online, whereas 64 percent had gambled offline.

 In 2024, the majority of the gambling population used lottery games, accounting for 55% of all offline gambling. Scratch cards accounted for 21% and bingo for 7%.

 The only category where online betting exceeded land-based was sports betting, where 4% of bets were placed online and 3% were placed offline.

 Casinos in the Netherlands are seeing a surge in new customers
 According to the WODC, 70% of 2024 internet bettors began placing wagers on the market's launch on October 1, 2021.

 The World Organisation Against Drugs (WODC) has issued a warning about the potential dangers of internet gambling, namely its prevalence among younger people and the increased risk of problems like addiction among this group.

 Its most recent research backs this up, showing that among young adults who bet online with their own accounts, the proportion of high-risk gamblers skyrocketed to 18%, compared to 1% overall (including lotteries) in the Netherlands.

 The Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) is a commonly used tool in the industry to assess the problematic behaviours of online gamblers. It was found that 11% of all players with personal accounts were deemed high risk, while 10% were categorised as moderate risk.

 The WODC expressed concern that the current laws in the Netherlands could provide a problem for younger individuals, who are more prone to addiction, due to the heavy burden that players are expected to bear in terms of controlling their own gaming.

 WODC suggests changes to the Dutch rules that would make them more user-friendly
 There has been a surge of new players in the gambling industry, and the WODC is concerned that the present efforts to combat gambling addiction in the Netherlands are worriedly inadequate.

 By 2024, just 24% of internet gamblers had their gambling behaviour advised via an on-screen pop-up; this number decreased to 9% when contacted through chat or email.

 Notably, hardly 4% had temporarily abstained from gambling, and even fewer had applied for an involuntary prohibition.  The majority of problem gamblers surveyed by the WODC were unaware of resources like Cruks, the national self-exclusion program in the Netherlands.

 In response, the WODC put up five "urgent" suggestions to enhance the oversight of Dutch internet gaming.

 The first one is to move the duty of care away from the sector and into a central location, and the second one is to open up player data for researchers to use in their own pursuit of better addiction prevention measures.

 In order to effectively oversee legitimate operators, the WODC also suggests giving the Dutch gambling regulator, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), more authority.

 More regulations targeting unlicensed businesses is something the WODC is very interested in regarding the black market.

 Lastly, the WODC is urging for stricter regulations to shield vulnerable populations, such young adults, from harmful advertising, especially that which promotes gambling.  Moving beyond the narrow focus on "preventing gambling addiction" to incorporate a broader definition of "preventing gambling harm" is an important step in this direction.