Experts Warn as Dutch Gambling Accounts Skyrocket for Youth
The number of young adults taking part in online gambling in the Netherlands has grown dramatically since the legalization of the activity in 2021.
Online gambling soars among young adults in the Netherlands.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:Data from the Netherlands Gambling Authority reveals a 340% increase in active gambling accounts held by individuals aged 18 to 24, reaching nearly 300,000.
Young Adults Make Up Quarter of Active Accounts
Young adults now represent 25% of all active online gambling accounts despite comprising less than 10% of the adult population. Many of these individuals hold accounts across multiple live online casinos and sports betting platforms.
Derk van Enk, the director of the Yes We Can youth addiction clinic in Hilvarenbeek, spoke about the unique risks for this demographic.
The problem with online gambling is that the dopamine peak is greater than with sex, for example. You know how sensitive 18-year-olds are when it comes to sex. Imagine how that is with gambling.
The Dutch press recently interviewed a young man whose gambling habits consumed five years of his life and cost him €100,000. He described being fully aware of the harm yet unable to stop, particularly when it came to sports betting.
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The man explained that with sports, he still felt like he was in control as there is an element of skill involved, “I also kept Excel sheets. Then you think that you can calculate things and predict them, but that never happens.”
His gambling addiction impacted every aspect of his daily life. He explained how he would be gambling from the toilets at work, betting on everything from American basketball to obscure leagues and amateur games across the globe, including football matches in America, table tennis in Ukraine, and minor leagues in Finland and the Czech Republic.
The young man said that gambling consumed 70% of his time, leaving only 30% for maintaining his life. Intervention from his parents and girlfriend prompted him to seek therapy, although he did not stop immediately, and it wasn’t until people he cared about started abandoning him that he truly found the will to stop.
Young adults are also overrepresented in the CRUKS, the central register for problem gamblers. Of the approximately 85,000 individuals registered, nearly 20% are between 18 and 24 years old.
A recent report from the Scientific Research and Data Center (WODC) criticized the gambling law for its failure to protect people from addiction, and State Secretary Teun Struycken for Legal Protection has committed to responding to the report’s findings by the end of the year.
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