Gaming in Europe at ICE Barcelona: Great networking & speaker contributions!
With ICE 2025 slowly coming to a close, we are happy to report that our mini events, the Gaming in Germany Breakfast, the Gaming in Holland Lunch, and the Gaming in France Briefing, were highly successful.
We very much appreciated the valuable contributions of our speakers, and we are more than happy to have brought together experts and insiders to share their knowledge and insights.
In particular, we would like to thank:
Michel Groothuizen, Chair, Netherlands Gambling Authority
Nadja Wierzejewski, Head of Enforcement, GGL
Sina Rencz-Baasch, Department Head Virtual Slot Games, GGL
Nicolas Béraud, CEO, Betclic Group
Clément Martin Saint Léon, Managing Director Gaming, Groupe Barrière
Diane Mullenex, Partner, Pinsent Masons
Photos of our ICE lunch event are available here.
Netherlands Gambling Authority Chair: “I don't expect smooth sailing in 2025”
In his keynote speech at the Franssen Tolboom Annual Gaming Industry Event, Netherlands Gambling Authority Chair, Michel Groothuizen predicted continued political headwinds for the gambling sector:
“I don’t expect smooth sailing in 2025 either. We already witnessed a flurry of developments impacting the Dutch gambling landscape in 2024. On the political front, over 15 motions that affected our market were put on the table: for a total ban on advertising, for reversing legalization, for abolishing the 24-hour opening of physical establishments, and so much more.”
Although the Dutch regulator expressed concern over certain political decisions negatively impacting the regulated gambling market, including the increase of the gambling tax rate, Groothuizen also had harsh words for the gambling sector:
“[T]he political anti-gambling sentiment doesn’t come out of nowhere. Even in 2024, we continue to hear accounts of significant losses without meaningful interventions from operators who have a duty of care.”
Groothuizen further reminded the event's attendees that the gambling industry has very little credit in The Hague, and even compared the sector to “wolves preying on lambs.”
CasinoScout.nl promoting illegal gambling websites
Following its recent sale to an undisclosed party, CasinoScout.nl, one of the Netherlands’ largest affiliate websites, is currently promoting unlicensed gambling websites.
Notably, the CasinoScout website is hosted on a .nl domain and written in the Dutch language.
Moreover, the website falsely claims that several illegal gambling websites are licensed by the Netherlands Gambling Authority.
Meneer Casino provides overview of online slots games with highest RTP in the Dutch market
Affiliate website Meneer Casino has provided a helpful overview of the online slots games with the highest return-to-player (RTP) percentage in the regulated Dutch market.
Notably, most licensed operators offer at least one game with an RTP of 99% or 98.9%.
GB Gambling Commission warns B2B license holders to stop supplying illegal operators
The Great Britain Gambling Commission has issued a public warning to B2B license holders that supplying their products to unlicensed operators targeting the UK market could put their licenses at risk.
The GB Gambling Commission said some third-party resellers are distributing games to illegal operators, often in breach of contractual obligations. In these cases, B2B licensees may have been negligent in allowing the third parties to do so, the Commission said.
“The Commission is adopting a proactive approach to this matter and may decide at any point to conduct test purchasing activity to evidence potential breaches,” the industry warning notice concluded.
Netherlands Gambling Authority publishes study into markers of risky gambling behavior
The Netherlands Gambling Authority has published a study into risky gambling behaviors among the customers of Netherlands-licensed online operators.
The study identified five markers of risky behavior:
Intensity (total losses)
Loss of control (number of monthly deposits)
Frequency (changes in playing frequency)
Game type preference (casino games are classified as riskier than betting)
Operator behavior (efficacy (or inefficacy) of operator interventions)
One surprising finding of the study was that 1% of players – the group that loses €2500 or more per month – accounts for 43% of total GGR in the regulated Dutch online market.
The study also distinguishes, however, between high rollers and overspenders who are “typically not at the high end of the loss distribution.”
Finally, the study notes that mean values are not necessarily very helpful. “Problematic gambling is often characterized by outliers on certain days, not by behavior on an average day.”