(PRESS RELEASE) -- 2022 will go into the books as the first full calendar year that could be legally gambled online in the Netherlands. That means: playing with providers with a license from the Gaming Authority. In the annual report a detailed look back at what went well, and where things can and should be improved.
A total of 24 online gambling licenses have now been issued. 21 permits are actually used for offers to players. Pending permit applications (13) take a long time and require a lot of capacity from both Ksa and the applicants. For example, applicants struggle with getting their data vault in order. On average, 1 in 3 applications for online gambling leads to a license.
85 percent gamble legallyIt is estimated that 85% of online players gamble with legal providers. More than 36,000 citizens have now registered in the cruks central exclusion register, up from 6500 at the beginning of the year. As a result, they can no longer participate in high-risk games of chance, both country-specific (gaming halls and branches of Holland Casino) and online. This is an important contribution to preventing a gambling addiction or managing its consequences.
Record amount of finesIn the course of 2022, Ksa regulators had to intervene several times in prohibited advertising actions. Think of targeting advertising (including bonuses) to young adults and the use of role models. Combating illegal supply also remained as important as ever. In practice, most of the illegal websites go black after announcing that we are going to act. This is often less visible, but turns out to be very effective. In serious cases, fines follow. Due to the new penalty policies, these are higher than before. In 2022, a record amount of 29,779,000 euros in fines was handed out.