The Netherlands Gaming Authority (KSA) is reinforcing its efforts in public education and gambling addiction prevention by renewing funding for four key awareness projects.
These initiatives are backed by the Addiction Prevention Fund (VPF), which is financed through a levy on providers of high-risk gambling services.
Established in 2021, the VPF aims to reduce gambling-related harm by supporting projects that inform and assist the public. Managed by the KSA—which has imposed significant fines on unlicensed operators this year – the fund works closely with addiction experts and institutions to ensure effective use of its resources.
The latest funding round emphasizes raising awareness and offering practical tools for identifying and managing problem gambling.
One initiative extends an existing e-learning course by Jellinek, developed with GGZ Ecademy, which trains primary care professionals—such as GPs, psychologists, and debt counselors—to recognize and address signs of online gambling addiction. The new funding will help boost the module’s accessibility, particularly among frontline healthcare providers.
Another project expands the Trimbos Institute’s “Helder op School” (Bright at School) program, which helps schools promote healthy lifestyles and reduce risky behaviors. Initially focused on vocational students, the initiative will now offer materials for parent events, new lessons on gambling prevention, and resources to support schools in managing gambling-related concerns.
A third project targets professional footballers in the Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie, including under-21 and under-19 teams. The players’ union, VVCS, visits clubs to educate players on off-field risks. With added funding, VVCS will distribute flyers promoting tools like Gokstop and Gamban, and involve former players with gambling addiction experience as peer educators during awareness sessions.
The final initiative supports Steffie.nl, a platform run by the Leer Zelf Online Foundation that delivers easy-to-understand information for people with low literacy or mild intellectual disabilities. Four gambling-focused modules—covering definitions, addiction, self-assessment, and game identification – are being developed for release in autumn 2025.
With financial backing from the VPF, these projects aim to reach wider audiences, create new educational content, and better equip professionals and communities to prevent and address gambling harm.
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