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Dutch gambling regulator KSA strengthens advisory board amid tax concerns

A failed tax increase pushes the Netherlands to rethink gambling policies. Can two new advisors help balance revenue goals with player protection?

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The image shows an old map of the city of Amsterdam, Netherlands, with text detailing the official...
The image shows an old map of the city of Amsterdam, Netherlands, with text detailing the official plan of the tentonstelling. The map is detailed, showing the streets, buildings, and other landmarks of the area. The text provides additional information about the plan, such as the date, time, and location of the tents.

Dutch gambling regulator KSA strengthens advisory board amid tax concerns

The Netherlands' gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), announced two new appointments to its advisory board. According to the body's official announcement, the experienced Marjolein Hoogland and Ingmar Franken will join its team, serving an initial term of 3 years.

The KSA's announcement clarified that Hoogland is the national chief lawyer-general of the Ressortsparket, as well as the former deputy chief officer of the Public Prosecution Office in The Hague.

Franken, on the other hand, is a full-time professor in Clinical Psychology at Erasmus University Rotterdam. He is also head of the Centrum voor Verslavings, a center for the treatment of various addictions.

As members of the KSA's advisory board, the two hires will leverage their experience to help the operator maintain a sustainable ecosystem and a fair regulatory framework. The advisory board was created in 2014 and has since provided the gambling authority with precious advice and a second opinion on a variety of matters.

Because of that, the advisory board is comprised of people from sectors that are related or similar to the gambling industry. Its other members include Haiko van der Voort and Peter Kerkhof, as well as chair Anita Vegter.

The Netherlands' Latest Tax Hike Was a Failure

The appointments come shortly after the KSA stated that the recent increase in the country's gambling tax rate to 34.2% has not generated additional revenue and has instead led to a decline in gross gaming revenue across the board.

KSA chair Michel Groothuizen said that the latest set of regulatory and tax changes has ultimately hurt the gaming sector. He added that financially motivated measures, such as the gambling tax hike, generally conflict with the authority's goal of improving player protection for a variety of reasons.

Making staying in business harder for licensed companies usually makes them less competitive, leading to a player drain toward the much more dangerous black market.

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