Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has issued warnings to several licensed operators after they were found to have breached regulations by offering betting on youth and amateur sports events.
Announced yesterday (4 December), seven Dutch licensees permitted betting on events where competitors were under the age of 21. Licensed operators in the country may only take bets on events where all players are at least 21.
KSA also discovered two licensees were offering prohibited bet types. These include betting on certain players to receive a red or yellow card, or total corners in a football match.
The regulator said all breaches took place during the 2023-24 football season. However, it did not disclose which operators breached the rules, nor the events or matches where the betting was permitted.
KSA contacted all licensees involved and ordered them to stop offering this type of betting to Dutch players. The regulator also warned other operators running these bets must alert KSA of its error or face further action.
Following this initial action, KSA will carry out follow-up checks on all the involved operators at a later date. Should any licensee still offer unauthorised betting, they could face a sanction.
Why can Dutch operators not offer these bets?
Betting on youth or amateur sports, as well as in-game events such as corners or cards, is commonplace in other markets. So, why does the Netherlands not allow this type of betting?
In terms of betting on youth sports, KSA said young people under 21 may be easier to manipulate. As such, it said a blanket ban on betting where any participant is not yet 21 helps mitigate this risk and protect younger people.
As for in-game events, KSA incidents like corner kicks and red or yellow cards can be “easily manipulated”. This, it adds, poses a greater risk for match-fixing that may not necessarily impact the final result.
Operators holding Dutch licences must ensure they do not offer these bets, even if they do in other regulated markets.
Black market betting remains an issue in the Netherlands
Of course, these rules only apply to Dutch licensees, with those operating illegally offering bets of all kinds.
In October, KSA published data showing current Dutch online gambling channelisation is at 95%. However, data on player spend and revenue suggests this is closer to 87%, as users spend more on illegal sites.
Earlier this month, a government-led review of current regulations in the Netherlands found measures to encourage responsible gambling and help protect players from harm are not sufficient and failing.
On top of this, last month two Dutch operator associations launched a reporting system to identify and tackle illegal gambling. This is open to members of the Netherlands Online Gambling Association (NOGA) and Vergunde Nederlandse Online Kansspelaanbieders (VNLOK) as well as other licensees, partner organisations and professional stakeholders.
VNLOK and NOGA had already called for increased monitoring of the black market.
