The Dutch gambling regulator (KSA) has appointed Michel Groothuizen as its new chairman.

The regulator began the search for a new chairman in October last year after Jansen announced his decision to retire. A lawyer and public administration expert, Groothuizen has served as deputy director general of the Dutch Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI) for the past four years.

“With Michel, the KSA will have a new manager with very broad administrative experience and knowledge of the subject in question,” said Ric de Rooij, deputy secretary general at the ministry of justice and security, which is responsible for the KSA.

“This is also necessary because developments surrounding gambling do not stand still and will continue to require attention. I look forward to working with Michel,” he added.

Groothuizen previously served as general director of the Netherlands Institute for Forensic Psychiatry, and has also been a deputy judge at the Arnhem Court of Appeal for the past 15 years. Between 2001 and 2015, he worked at the ministry of justice and security and as policy director was responsible for, among other things, the establishment of the KSA in 2012.

“Old love never dies. From 2007 onwards, as policy director, I was responsible, among other things, for the gambling dossier. One of my tasks was to establish the Gaming Authority. We succeeded in 2012,” Groothuizen said.

“We had already been working on new legislation for a few years to manage online gambling offerings. It took almost 10 years before the law that was supposed to regulate this actually came into effect. I was long gone by then,” he added.

Groothuizen described his appointment as “a wonderful challenge.”