New Field Lab: Communicating with data about Supervision on Legal Gambling

We are looking for you!

Gambling is a fact of life. Citizens who play games of chance enjoy them or hope to get rich from them. Even citizens who do not play sometimes encounter games of chance. For example, they see Dutch Lottery scratch cards in the supermarket. Or they are confronted with an online game of chance during the intermission of a football match or a regular commercial break. The latter has become the order of the day since it will be possible for license holders to offer online legal games of chance from 1 October 2021.

However, there are also risks associated with games of chance. That is why there is a Netherlands Gambling Authority (Ksa). The Ksa checks whether providers of games of chance comply with the rules. For example, they make sure that the player is protected and that the game is fair. Gambling addictions and illegal practices are combated. This supervision of games of chance is important for citizens, but not always visible.

The recent changes in the regulations on games of chance offer the Ksa not only the opportunity to strengthen its supervision, but also to communicate about this. However, the recurring question is who constitutes the regulator’s audience: the ‘average’ citizen, the (frequently or occasionally) playing citizen, the concerned citizen, the media or politicians? At the same time, increasing attention has been paid to the supervisory role of the Ksa since the opening of the online market. The key question is therefore how the Ksa can provide (better) insight into its supervision of this legal supply of games of chance, using the data it obtains in the context of its supervision activities.

Research Citizen Friendly Data Communication: Field Lab

This is why we are conducting a Field lab, in the context of our broader research project.. The aim of the Field Lab is to explore innovative solutions and develop tools for communication on the supervision of online gambling. The basic principle is that the available data is used and that experiments are conducted with the communication of that data, for example with the aid of new visualisations.

We are still looking for citizens to participate in this research. Everyone is welcome, both citizens who play (frequently or occasionally) and people who have little affinity with games of chance, but (perhaps precisely for that reason) are interested in this Field Lab.

During a first session, employees of the Ksa, together with members of the research team, data experts and citizens will discuss their visions. Citizens who are interested are most welcome to join!

This session will take place in March, the exact date is yet to be agreed. This joint session lasts (a maximum of) three hours and, if possible in the context of the applicable Covid-19 measures, will physically take place in Tilburg or The Hague.

Contact

If you are interested in this research or have any questions, please get in touch: s.kempeneer@tilburguniversity.edu