The Netherlands Gambling Authority (Kansspelautoriteit, Ksa) has published a guide for journalists and editors on how to report on gambling and gambling harm, arguing that the way the media talks about gambling shapes how the public sees it.
The guide, released on 27 October 2026, is aimed at newsrooms covering gambling both as news and as human-interest stories. The regulator says it wants to reduce stigma around people affected by gambling harm, counter the normalisation of gambling and make it easier for people to seek help.
Eight points for newsrooms
The media guide sets out eight recommendations:
- Stay factual and balanced. Big-win stories and exceptional cases can suggest large wins are common, so coverage should give context, causes and figures.
- Look at the industry’s role. When explaining harm, consider the products and the companies offering them, not only individual behaviour.
- Put the person first. Describe people by what they experience rather than by a label, and ask interviewees how they want to be described.
- Use recovery-oriented language that highlights recovery and support, not only vulnerability.
- Stress the positive norm, for example that most young people in the Netherlands do not gamble online.
- Use current, reliable statistics, with the Expertisecentrum Gokken named as a source.
- Choose neutral images. The Ksa advises against slot machines and glowing screens, and against naming specific gambling sites, products or companies.
- Point readers to help, especially in personal stories and pieces about lottery wins.
Words to use and avoid
The guide includes suggestions on terminology to avoid negative framing. It favours phrases such as “people who gamble”, “people with problems caused by gambling” and “gambling harm”, and advises against labels such as “gambler”, “problem gambler”, “gambling addict” and “ex-addict”.
It also questions terms commonly used by the industry. “Responsible gambling” is discouraged because it places the responsibility on the individual, and “safe gambling” because it suggests gambling carries no risk. The Ksa also cautions against singling out “vulnerable groups”, on the basis that everyone who gambles runs some risk.
A help disclaimer as standard
The regulator highlights the value of adding a disclaimer to articles about gambling, similar to the help notices that are already widely used in reporting on suicide. It hopes the practice will become common in gambling coverage soon.
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The suggested wording directs readers to OpenOverGokken, the Dutch information and support service, at openovergokken.nl or on 0800 24 000 22. The Ksa recommends placing it in a box or at the end of an article, and reading it out in audio and video reports.
The guidance follows a wider push on player protection across European markets, including operators such as Genting, which has just brought its safer play tools into a single hub.
