Michel Groothuizen has reiterated his desire for the world’s gambling regulators to come together and form a ‘gambling Interpol’ to improve information exchange for enforcement investigations against the black market.
He emphasised that cooperation internationally is growing, which has helped to improve the effectiveness of the industry when it comes to sharing information and aligning in the fight against illegal operators.
Furthermore, Groothuizen outlined a hardline approach to influencers who post promotions for the illegal market as the regulator continues to build on domain-blocking steps initially taken in 2025.
The comments from the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) Chair come as the Netherlands’ gambling authority prepares to publish its supervisory agenda for 2026 later this week, which defines its focus for the year ahead.
Speaking last week at the Annual Gaming Industry Event at the Royal Industrieele Groote Club in Amsterdam, Groothuizen revealed that the title for the KSA’s supervisory agenda this year is ‘putting the player first’, covering gambling, those who engage with it, as well as those who don’t or no longer do so.
Five themes are covered in the supervisory agenda: tackling illegal gambling operators, protecting vulnerable groups, supervising the duty of care, supervising advertising and supervising compliance with the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act (Wwft).
Illegal market
The illegal market has been a hot topic in the Netherlands recently, with State Secretary for Justice and Security, Arno Rutte, labelling the trajectory of illegal gambling in the country as ‘worrying’.
However, Rutte also stated that a bill was in preparation to assist the KSA in tackling the black market, with analysis taking place to discover how the authority can intervene more effectively.
Groothuizen noted that the Dutch gambling authority is planning to increase its capacity in combating illegal operators to keep players on licensed platforms.
Part of this plan includes further international cooperation for enforcement investigations via a ‘gambling Interpol’. This is not a new thought by the KSA Chair, as he first floated the idea in November last year when reflecting on the four years since the legalisation of online gambling in the Netherlands.
The KSA Chair said: “We’ll assign more people to disrupt the infrastructure of illegal operators and render it inaccessible. We’ll seek cooperation from stakeholders through the alliance we’ve set up specifically for this purpose. And we’ll also join forces with banks, internet service providers, marketing agencies and other parties who can enrich our supervision with new insights.
“We’ll build on the first successful steps we took in 2025. These include making .nl affiliates inaccessible through our cooperation with the Foundation for Internet Domain Registration in the Netherlands, and rapidly removing illegal content posted by influencers on social media. Those influencers are by no means always as naive and innocent as they claim to be, so we’ll come down hard on them as well.
“Finally, we’ll exchange information internationally on an ever-larger scale about our enforcement investigations. I’ve previously called for something like a ‘gambling Interpol’, and I can now see how that cooperation is increasingly taking shape. That’s a good start towards strengthening our effectiveness.”
Duty of care
Part of the KSA’s upcoming supervisory agenda will include how it plans to tackle the duty of care, including an emphasis on protecting young adults and minors, what parents can do to be more aware of the risks of gambling, as well as advertising rules.
Groothuizen stated that since the introduction of the mandatory affordability check and net deposit limits, high deposits have been dropping on average, while duty of care is improving, as many case files that were examined and resulted in fines predated the tightening of regulations.
“Players are not spending such extreme amounts. While that is, of course, disadvantageous for your bottom line, I’m pleased, as the regulator, that these protective measures are working so well. And channelisation, in terms of number of players, doesn’t seem to have been hit too severely either.
“Although things are improving, there’s still plenty to do. The duty of care will therefore remain a key priority for the KSA in 2026.”
The authority will examine how affordability checks are carried out, how operators monitor and intervene, and how to reduce problem gambling. Further guidelines on the use of AI and automated monitoring tools will also be issued.
Advertising and AML
On the topic of advertising, Groothuizen said that compliance by operators “can still be improved”, but he is happy with how there has been “virtually no deliberate circumvention” of the ban on sports sponsorship.
He encouraged operators to keep using common sense by not advertising on platforms that young adults are using a lot, “not even if the correct filters are set for the relevant advert” and to not get stuck in “the mindset of what is and isn’t permitted, just to push the boundaries in the grey area”.
Regarding AML, the Chair said there have been too many warnings, instructions and fines issued over the past year, with the KSA stepping up work in this area.
Two unnamed new hires have been made for its executive board, pending approval and screening by the AIVD, the General Intelligence and Security Service, which he promises will bring a “great deal of useful new knowledge and many years of experience”.
Beneath the three-person executive board will be three directors, leading a different pillar of the KSA’s new structure: Ella Seijsener as Licensing and Supervision Directorate, Roos Lawant for Player Protection and Board Advisory and Daniël Palomo van Es for Digitalisation, Analysis and Business Operations.
Groothuizen noted that work will continue on player protection and campaigns to raise awareness of services such as the gambling stop, Gokstop, through Cruks. The Open over Gokken, Open about Gambling, website will be launched as well, providing support information for players and professionals alike.
“We’ve worked with people with practical experience and academic professionals to make the information as accessible as possible, avoid patronising language, and help people find the right support services.
“In this way, we reduce gambling harm, raise awareness of the dangers and risks of gambling, and show those who still want to gamble where and how they can do so responsibly and safely.”
Outlook
Finally, the KSA Chair talked about the renewal of licences, mentioning that collaboration is key to making sure the country’s gambling act is amended in a way that works best for operators and regulators.
Groothuizen concluded: “The evaluation of the Remote Gambling Act covers what does and doesn’t work, and you’ve provided valuable input in that regard. We’ll continue to contribute ideas about the changes we want to see going forward – to keep channelisation where it needs to be, to remain an effective regulator, and to clamp down more firmly on illegal operators.
“It’s then up to you to deliver on those good intentions: by stepping up your commitment to the duty of care, by not pushing the advertising rules to the limit, and by complying properly with the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act.
“For my part, I’ll work hard to ensure that increased regulatory pressure does not lead to a major rise in illegal operators or create problems for the legal market.
“In 2026 and beyond, I also hope we can work with a substantial proportion of licensed operators to continue building a gambling market in which the player is at the heart.”
