The Netherlands Gambling Authority (Kansspelautoriteit, Ksa) has taken another step toward data-driven supervision after making public on August 18, 2026 an open-source machine-learning algorithm developed by researchers at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) to identify risky gambling patterns and compare them with operators’ internal monitoring systems.
The model was developed by Charles de Leau, a UvA PhD candidate, alongside Reinout Wiers, Professor of Psychology, and Johan Bollen, Professor of Computer Science. De Leau pitched the project to ZonMw, which funded it through the Ksa’s Addiction Prevention Fund (Verslavingspreventiefonds). No specific investment figure or project contract value has been publicly disclosed.
Charles de Leau
The algorithm was trained using, among other inputs, every wager made by every player across 13 licensed Dutch online casinos during a two-year period, from July 30, 2023 to July 30, 2025. It examines betting amounts and frequency, session timing, consecutive nighttime gambling, winning and losing streaks, and how players change their behaviour after those outcomes before calculating a risk score. All forms of online gambling were incorporated into the model.
Reinout Wiers
Crucially, the 13 participating licensees have not been publicly identified by the UvA, Ksa or De Leau. Their names therefore cannot be reliably attributed to the dataset; publishing a list of current Dutch licensees as if they were the 13 participants would be inaccurate. The number of players, total wagers and monetary volume analysed also remain undisclosed.
David van Weel
Because the algorithm is open source, regulators, researchers and operators can examine its code and methodology. The Ksa can use it as an independent benchmark against proprietary casino risk scores when assessing compliance with operators’ statutory duty of care. The project was developed in close cooperation with Spain’s Directorate-General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ), headed by Mikel Arana Etxezarreta, which is developing its own detection model.
The Ksa is chaired by Michel Groothuizen. Gambling policy falls under the Ministry of Justice and Security, led by David van Weel, while Claudia van Bruggen, State Secretary for Justice and Security since February 23, 2026, holds the gambling portfolio. The backdrop is increasingly sensitive: Dutch regulated online gambling generated €602 million in GGR in H2 2025, with roughly 500,000 active online gamblers per month. Channelisation stands at about 91% by players, but only around 53% when measured by gambling spend.
