SBC News

The Dutch House of Representatives has adopted a series of motions around gambling over the past two weeks, including calling for more research into the gambling age limit.

In the latest round of votes this week, the House approved an amended motion submitted by MPs Rosemarijn Dral and Marieke Wijen-Nas, respective members of the People’s Party and the Farmer–Citizen Movement.

The motion calls for the State Secretary for Legal Protection, Teun Struycken, to properly investigate whether or not raising the age limit for playing ‘risky games of chance’ from 18 years to 21 years would benefit the black market.

In February, Struycken announced a series of proposed reforms to the Gambling Act (KOA Act), which re-regulated the Dutch online gambling market in 2021. This included the proposal of increasing the age limit for certain casino products.

The reforms have been broadly welcomed by stakeholders amid rising public and political concerns about gambling visibility in the Netherlands si..

Illegal online operators in Russia, a wide-ranging term given the extensive restrictions on the sector throughout the country, have once again caught the attention of authorities.

The government has begun exploring more ways in which to shut down online gambling operations, and is evaluating the adoption of several methods in the near future. This could include the blocking of websites/applications, as well as blocking of crypto payments for betting.

These proposals were publicly discussed by Evgeny Masharov, a member of the Russian Civic Chamber, a civil society institution established by Vladimir Putin in the 2000s to handle the assessment of draft state laws.

Speaking to Russian news outlet TASS, Masharov was questioned about the Commission’s latest meeting, which focused on gambling and explored different paths towards reducing the influence of the sector on vulnerable groups – specifically children and minors.

During the discussions, hearings were held regarding a number of ..

The new German government’s announcement to take more decisive action against illegal gambling has been backed by The German Sports Betting Association (DSWV).

The DSWV has submitted concrete proposals for action on how enforcement can be improved together with the federal states. The trade body has emphasised a need r to “turn good intentions into effective policy”.

At the heart of the proposals are a strengthening of legal providers in competition with illegal ones, which is said to be the most effective weapon against a mushrooming black market.

It must offer sufficiently attractive products for interested customers and can therefore hold its own against the illegal market.

DSWV explained: “This does not mean that regulatory elements must be dispensed with, as state licenses and the ability to advertise with them are a value in themselves. However, the attractiveness of the legal products must not lag so far behind the illegal ones, as is currently the case.”

Furthermore, anot..

The World Lottery Association (WLA) President, Andreas Kötter, has highlighted the need to work with diverse partners from across the entire lottery and sports betting sector to maintain integrity in sport.

In order to combat illegal gaming and sports betting operations, and with more than half of WLA members now offering sports betting, the organisation has announced several new strategy initiatives.

The President assured that the group is “moving full steam ahead” in 2025, stating: “Science is a major factor and should enable us to see the facts, new insights and developments, and advise us on questions regarding the future design of markets and companies.

“We need the impulses to reflect on our actions and to keep an eye on major developments. It is important that we attract globally renowned scientists to address these issues.”

Kötter also showed strong support in the measures that are taking to strengthen WLA’s partnerships with the Regional Associations (ALA, APLA, CIBELAE, ..

The Croatian Gaming Association (HUPIS) has welcomed the European Commission’s (EC) probe into the country’s gambling reforms.

At the end of March, Croatia’s policymakers announced new rules to increase taxation and licensing fees, as well as a set of new advertising restrictions and mandatory land-based ID checks, among others.

The decision was met with criticism from some industry shareholders, including HUPIS, which called out the government’s actions for not being first communicated with the European Commission (EC) – a mandatory procedure for all EU states under the TRIS procedure.

Filip Jelavic, General Secretary of HUPIS, said: “We believe it is in the interest of all stakeholders – including the Croatian Government – that the legislative process is carried out in accordance with the European legal framework.

“Legal certainty and predictability are essential for market stability, and any potential financial consequences arising from procedural shortcomings are ultimately bo..

Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has reported a positive effect on responsible gambling as a result of the Netherlands’ revised policies.

In the regulator’s Spring 2025 monitoring report, the KSA revealed that measures introduced in October to protect players have seen fewer players lose large amounts and the percentage of extreme losses have fallen ‘sharply’.

Looking at Dutch gambling across 2024, gross gaming result (GSR) – stakes minus prizes paid out – came in at €1.47bn, showing a growth of 6% compared to 2023 (€1.39bn).

GSR was 10% lower in H1 2024 compared to H2, which was attributed to the UEFA European Football Championship in June.

Due to being considered a vulnerable group by the KSA, 18-23 year olds received extra attention in the monitoring report. The report found that this age group loses less money on average to over 24 year olds, with €48 per month lost compared to €148.

The latter figure shows a decreasing average of losses per month for ove..

Techno Offshore Ltd, an igaming provider, has been fined €1.2m by Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) for illegally targeting the Dutch market.

According to the gambling authority, the company made its services available to Dutch consumers via two of its domains – nolimitbet.com and simplecasino.com.

The KSA found no comprehensive measures in place to obstruct the access to these websites, including “no visible age checks” at registration. What’s more, games on offer had autoplay and turboplay options.

With automatic bets enabled, players remove the need to wager manually after every spin. These functions have been outright banned by the KSA, as it views them as facilitators of risky gambling behaviours. Just recently, the regulator contacted all licensed Dutch operators to remind them of their duty to keep autoplay switched off.

Michel Groothuizen, Chairperson of the KSA, commented: “Providers in the Netherlands must comply with all kinds of rules to protect the player from gambling addictio..

Ygam has introduced a Gaming and Esports Programme to its portfolio of harm prevention initiatives, with a specific focus on helping the younger generation.

The launch aims to educate and support young gamers, their parents and carers, as well as professionals working in the gaming and esports industry.

Sacha Kent, Programme Lead for Gaming and Esports, commented: “It’s vital we recognise the central role gaming plays in the digital lives that children lead today. This new programme marks an important step in helping young people enjoy gaming safely, with the knowledge and tools to better understand potential risks and harms.

“Through our work with parents, young people, and professionals across sectors, we know there is a real demand for this kind of education. We’re incredibly proud and excited to begin delivering it to communities across the country.”

Addressing a growing issue

In the last five years, the global esports market has experienced dramatic growth, and recent studie..