Teun Struycken new Dutch minister for gambling

The new government minister responsible for gambling policy in the Netherlands has been confirmed.

Teun Struycken, the State Secretary for Legal Protection, will take over from Franc Weerwind, who was in the role since 2022.

Struycken’s New Social Contract party have been fierce proponents of a ban on online gambling, which it said should be “strictly enforced” due to “the growth of problematic debts and crime.”

There is no overall majority in the Netherlands’ new government, with the NSC, the Farmers Movement, the People’s Party and the Party for Freedom all having a say.

Struycken will be chiefly responsible for completing the review of the re-regulation of the Dutch online gambling market in October 2021.

His predecessor Weerwind has already pushed through new rules on deposit limits and affordability checks, which are set to come into force in October.

The Dutch gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has also formalised its own new rules in these areas.

The KSA is also set for new leadership, with Michel Groothuizen taking over from René Jansen. Groothuizen will make his first speech in the role at the iGB L!VE conference in Amsterdam in July.