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CORRECTION - An earlier version of this article said that the KSA was opening its match fixing investigation rather than closing it.
The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) said it has completed a market-wide investigation into match-fixing risks, with a focus on bets on amateur competitions.
Sports-betting companies are obliged to assess the risk of offering bets on games in which amateur clubs play, such as the TOTO KNVB Cup, the regulator said in a statement on Tuesday (January 16).
The regulator said it has seen evidence that licensees are assessing risks in different ways, with one operator undertaking extensive analysis, with others limiting analyses to one sentence.
The KSA it will issue guidance on how to identify and analyse match-fixing risks in February.
In another regulatory matter, industry trade group executives worry that planned rules governing deposit limits and affordability lack clarity and may push players to the black market.
In December, Franc Weerwind, the minister in charge of gambling issues, announced plans to require players who set voluntary deposit limits of more than €350 a month to be informed of the risks of setting limits at those levels.
Young adults, under the age of 24, would have €150 limits. Information should include information about how to join Cruks, the nationwide self-exclusion programme, and gambling addiction prevention sources.
The KSA is also consulting on a proposal that would force operators to respond within an hour if a gambling is exhibiting risky behaviour.
Peter-Paul de Goeij, managing director of Netherlands Online Gambling Association, said rules that would call for operators to intervene if a player is “excessively” trying to win back losses are open to interpretation, and some of the rules may tempt players to open multiple accounts.
“If we put too many locks on the doors, we lose the consumers,” he said.
He was among speakers at a Gaming in Holland webinar on Wednesday (January 17).
In an unrelated matter, a Dutch unit of Entain has filed a lawsuit against the former owners of BetCity in Commercial Court in the UK, as part of a dispute over a commercial contract.
In December, BetEnt, which ran the BetCity gambling site, was fined €3m by the KSA for failures in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing policies.
Entain bought BetEnt in January 2023 for a sum of up to €850m.
BetCity was among the first dozen Dutch online gambling licence holders.
The lawsuit, filed on December 7, was first reported by Casino Nieuws gambling affiliate news site.
