KSA Chief: Netherlands 'Too Small' To Beat Illegal Gambling Alone
Michel Groothuizen, chair of the Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has called for coordinated European action against illegal gambling, warning that the Netherlands is "far too small" to tackle the problem alone, according to SCCG Management.
Writing in a blog following the Netherlands' annual gambling committee debate, Groothuizen said illegal gambling "is, in fact, an unprecedentedly large and complex problem. Of every euro a Dutch person gambles away, half goes to the illegal market."
Illegal market dwarfs national economies
Groothuizen said the global illegal gambling market's turnover exceeds the GDP of every country except the US and China, and pushed back on the idea that illegal operators are simply foreign firms with otherwise sound business practices that occasionally attract Dutch players online.
He said Europe needs to persuade technology platforms and other parties to cooperate on enforcement rather than leave individual regulators to act alone.
"We are fighting a global network of ruthless criminal organisations with dedicated community police officers, whereas we should actually be deploying an international investigative service," Groothuizen said.
Echoes wider industry calls
The comments align with recent calls from FATF and the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) for greater cross-border collaboration against unlicensed operators.
The KSA has stepped up enforcement against illegal gambling in the Netherlands this year, including shutting down unlicensed lottery and sports betting sites, but Groothuizen's remarks suggest the regulator sees the scale of the problem as beyond what any single national authority can resolve on its own.
