Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Dutch gambling regulator is planning to crack down on illegal land-based games of a chance next year. The regulator plans to work with local authorities to combat such operations.

KSA’s previous efforts

The Dutch regulator helped municipalities and law enforcement authorities by providing specialized support in 2019. It helped these authorities on 35 occasions. In 2020, it aims to provide similar support at least 50 times. It also plans to advise authorities on how to create checks for illegal gaming in the country. The KSA will send its own inspectors to help the local authorities in their investigations. It would also create expert reports to support ongoing investigations at the local level.

It said in a statement,

“As a supervisor, the KSA has the expertise to recognize illegal games of chance, for example in the form of gambling columns or illegal poker tournaments.”

The regulator has asked all authorities willing to cooperate with it to contact them directly.

The move was expected

Last month, KSA and self-help organization AGOG published a joint report in which they claimed that gaming machines create the biggest problem gambling-related issues in Dutch consumers as compared to other forms of gambling. The study understood the behaviors of 86 people who signed up with AGOG and found that at least 67% of survey respondents who suffered problem gambling issues played gaming machines.

In the UK, Fixed-Odds-Betting-Machines (FOBTs) suffered a major blow as the government reduced the amount of maximum stakes by 98%. The machines were called “crack cocaine” of gaming and were known to be highly addictive.

The KSA report further notes that a third of players gambled twice or thrice a week in a year before they seek intervention from AGOG. Another third of players played four to six times a week. A quarter of the players were extremely addicted to gambling and played daily.