The gambling regulator in the Netherlands is launching a probe into arcade operations for alleged violations of their duties related to the national self-exclusion registry.

Violations of CRUKS Requirements

The country’s gaming authority, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has received “dozens of reports in the recent months” from players who claimed to have been registered with the self-exclusion registry, CRUKS, yet being allowed to enter arcade venues and play, and is launching the investigation into arcade operators’ access controls.

“Players registered in CRUKS precisely because they have problems with gambling and are no longer in control. If the investigation shows that violations have actually taken place, the KSA will impose sanctions,” the KSA stated.

The country’s self-exclusion register, which launched alongside the new gaming regulation in October 2021, allows players to self-exclude from any form of gambling, or for someone from their close environment to submit a request to the register on their behalf.

Once registered in CRUKS, players should not be able to play with any licensed gaming operator as they, including those which run arcade venues, are required to check whether a player is present in the self-exclusion register before granting the player access to the premises.

According to the numerous reports received by the KSA, players claim many arcade operators are failing to stop them from playing, in some of the cases there is no access control, and even there were cases where the CRUKS registry was ignored but KSA views the national exclusion registry as “an important means of combatting gambling addiction” and considers the access control failures very seriously.

Arcade operators are entering the focus of the KSA for a second time since the launch of the KOA regime in the country last year after an audit of 20 arcades last year after the official launch of the new gambling regime found out many of them failed to cover all of the new requirements.

No Ban on Gambling Advertising Yet

The KSA will also be busy reinforcing the ban on using prominent public figures and sports personalities in gambling advertising across all forms of media as the ban enters into force on June 30. The regulator sent a letter to all incumbents and advertising organizations to remind them of their new responsibilities.

Gambling operators in the Netherlands will not be stripped of the right to advertise across media channels yet, according to the latest information provided by the Minister for Legal Protection Franc Weerwind in the House of Representatives.

While the minister partially sided with his Belgian counterpart that excessive gambling advertising poses risks, he did not imply that a blanket ban would be coming anytime soon. Instead, Weerwind insisted that advertising could be kept within healthy boundaries by the operators.