KSA launches new round of subsidies to combat gambling harm

(AsiaGameHub) –   Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the gambling regulatory body of the Netherlands, has allocated additional funding to efforts focused on reducing problem gambling across the country.

Five new projects in total have been announced as grant recipients from the KSA’s Addiction Prevention Fund. The financing supports the treatment and prevention of gambling-related harm among the Dutch public, 20% of whom are currently at moderate to high risk of harmful gambling behaviour, per the regulator.

One grant will be awarded to the Anonymous Gamblers Foundation (AGOG), a support group for people with compulsive gambling issues, to fund training for new counsellors. In addition, AGOG will carry out further research into launching digital counselling services targeted at residents living in regions where in-person support meetings are not accessible.

The Dutch Association for Psychiatry (NVvP) is another grant recipient under the Addiction Prevention Fund, and the awarded money will be used to develop specialised guidelines for treating gambling disorders.

Since the NVvP currently provides guidance to mental health professionals via a series of existing recommendations, adding content focused on problem gambling to these resources is designed to help build a healthcare system that is better equipped to treat patients affected by gambling harm.

Another grant recipient in the healthcare field is the independent mental health research centre, the Trimbos Institute, which has launched two pilot programmes to expand its professional expertise into the area of problem gambling.

The first project will investigate methods to increase gambling harm education for young people, including conducting surveys, carrying out data monitoring, and facilitating discussions with local municipalities and relevant stakeholders.

For its second project, the Trimbos Institute will focus on upgrading the existing mechanisms that allow employers to provide effective support to staff members who may be struggling with gambling-related harm.

Stichting Naast is the next organisation on the grant list, which will use its subsidy to develop webinars, one-on-one guidance sessions and informational newsletters as support tools for the family and friends of problem gamblers.

The Addiction Prevention Fund has been an extremely valuable resource in addressing problem gambling in the Netherlands, and will continue to fulfill this role through 2026 as the KSA prepares to tackle falling channelisation rates and the growing prominence of the unregulated black market gambling sector.