KSA chief calls for deeper duty of care from operators
Regulator has extended its investigation into Q2 2023 citing “major differences” in player protection among licensed firms in the market
Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) chief René Jansen has called for operators to adopt a deeper duty of care after the regulator published its initial findings into its duty of care investigation.
The KSA began investigating operators’ duty of care processes in 2022 but confirmed the data it has received to date does not provide “sufficient information about the exact process”.
Therefore, the regulator announced that it will continue with its investigation until Q2 2023.
Initial findings from the KSA have shown that there are major differences between operators’ procedures in terms of interventions, how playing time and losses are handled and how younger players are monitored.
Following the publication of the initial findings, Jansen spoke about the importance of the research to understand how operators conduct themselves.
He said: “The exact manner in which [operators] must fulfil the duty of care has not been clearly prescribed. I expect that our research will lead to a better understanding of the way in which the providers have shaped and put into practice their duty of care.”
Jansen went on to bemoan the broadness of understanding around duty of care for customers and insisted the regulator would look to make amends following the conclusion of its research.
Jansen commented: “I’ve said it before, on several occasions. There are too many signals about players losing large sums in a short period of time, and about young players getting into trouble due to loss of control in online gambling.
“They worry me a lot. Because the duty of care should ensure that these kinds of signals are at most incidental and sporadic instead of recurring and elusive. Our initial research findings reveal a very broad and varied interpretation of the duty of care.
“This is just a first sampling of the findings, one that, as far as I’m concerned, already makes it clear that we have to dig a spade deeper. And that we should definitely consider prescribing the theme of ‘duty of care’ in a more specific and practical way.”
Jansen also spoke beyond the initial investigation findings to explain what the regulator wants to see from operators when setting up loss limits.
He said: “When filling in the limits, we don’t want to see drop-down fields with pre-filled amounts, hours or other things. Those fields must be empty. The player must think for himself, without direction, about what he wants to fill in there.”