NOGA Expresses Concern About Increase in Number of Players Seeking Help from Addiction Care

The Dutch Online Gambling Association (NOGA) has responded to the results of a recent study conducted by the National Alcohol and Drugs Information System (LADIS), which revealed a continuous rise in the number of people being treated for gambling addiction.

According to the study, the number of people in addiction care with gambling as a primary problem is increasing. In 2023, this involved 2456 people, an increase compared to the 1920 people in 2022. This increase is mainly caused by an expansion of the number of supplying institutions, although the institutions that have been supplying information for some time also signal a slight increase. Gambling problems account for 4% of the total problems in addiction care.

Eric Konings, acting director of NOGA, said: “The figures published today show that after years of decline, there is now an increase in the number of gambling addicts in addiction care. Although the growth is mainly caused by the fact that more institutions have started to provide figures, this does give cause for concern. After all, gambling must be a safe and responsible form of entertainment for all Dutch people, and 2,456 people who have had to ask for help is 2,456 too many. As we stated last year, these figures should be interpreted with caution, because it often takes a considerable amount of time before people with problematic gambling behavior turn to addiction care. Just as the downward trend of recent years was no reason to cheer, these figures are also no reason to panic.

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“It is also not known where the majority of people developed gambling problems, and the figures do not distinguish between whether the gambling problem arose in legal and illegal online offerings. For a fact-based debate on gambling addiction problems, it would be enormously helpful if this were made clear. In the meantime, NOGA continues to strive for a responsible gambling offer in the Netherlands, such as in our collaboration with AGOG. After all, our members stand for a safe online gambling market.”