The Dutch Gaming Authority (KSA) has released an updated version of its Gaming Machine Guide for Municipalities, providing local authorities with clearer tools and guidance for the supervision and enforcement of gambling, including gaming machines.
The revision was developed in collaboration with the Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG), with input gathered from staff across multiple municipalities. That consultation process highlighted a common need: greater clarity around illegal gambling and how responsibilities are divided between local authorities and the KSA itself.
The updated guide incorporates the most recent legislation and regulations and has been restructured to better reflect the practical information needs of municipalities.
It covers key areas including licensing and operation, supervision and enforcement, and the duty of care obligations placed on gaming machine operators.
It also offers guidance on identifying illegal gambling and the role municipalities are expected to play in addressing it.
Ella Seijsener, Director of Licensing & Supervision at KSA, noted that while the authority oversees the majority of gambling supervision in the Netherlands using a risk-based approach, a portion of that responsibility sits with municipalities. She pointed to the issuance of presence permits — which authorise the placement of gaming machines in specific locations – as one example of where municipal authority applies.
Seijsener acknowledged that the extent of that responsibility has not always been well understood at the local level, and said the updated guide is intended to address that gap.
KSA is encouraging municipalities to treat the guide as a standard reference document for all matters relating to gaming machines and comparable games of chance.
The guide update is the latest in a series of regulatory actions taken by KSA in recent weeks. The authority has also simplified the process for administrators to register problem gamblers in the national exclusion register (Cruks), announced funding for five projects targeting gambling-related harm through its Addiction Prevention Fund and issued guidance to providers on their obligations regarding player funds and account closures.
Municipalities in the Netherlands are responsible for issuing permits that allow gaming machines to be installed in specific locations, alongside enforcing local gambling rules
