The figures are painful and confronting. Since 2013, Unibet received hundreds of distress alerts from players who indicated they no longer wanted to live. The operator stresses that each report is an alarm bell – not just for the company, but for the entire industry.
The debate over gambling operators’ duty of care is flaring up again as it appears that gambling addiction is more often accompanied by suicidal thoughts. Experts warn that providers need to do more to intervene early.
Distress signals often arrive late
At Unibet, suicidal reports are no longer the exception, but a recurring signal of a deeper problem. Many players only seek contact when debt and shame have become too great. The provider says it has been working with internal protocols since 2013 to recognise such emergencies and immediately refer them to support agencies.
Yet the question arises whether this is enough. The fact that players have to take the step themselves means that many cases go unseen. Gambling addiction is a creeping problem: people not only lose money, but often also control over their lives.
A recent survey showed that one in three affected Dutch gamblers had suicidal thoughts. That figure places a heavy responsibility on companies making a profit from those same players.
A duty of care with limits
Dutch law requires providers to monitor customers’ playing behaviour and intervene in case of risky behaviour. This can range from a phone call to temporary exclusion. Yet grey areas remain: how far is a provider allowed or required to go?
According to CasinoZorgplicht.nl, it is not enough just to react. Companies must proactively recognise signals, even if players do not explicitly ask for them.
In the UK, this awareness has grown before. The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) warned that there is a clear link between intensive gambling and suicidal thoughts. UK providers were ordered to use more data to detect risks at an early stage.
The Netherlands is slowly following suit, but pressure is mounting. Politicians, aid organisations and regulators are pushing for stricter enforcement of the duty of care.
The human side of supervision
The stories behind the numbers are the hardest. Employees of gambling companies describe conversations with players as tough and sometimes traumatic. They talk to people who are distraught, caught between guilt and addiction. For those employees, there is often little room to do more than refer.
Unibet stresses that the duty of care is not only legal but also moral. Yet it remains a fine line between responsibility and privacy. Intervening too late can cost lives, intervening too early can lead to mistrust among players who actually want to continue playing openly.
So the discussion is not just about rules, but about humanity. Behind every screen is someone with a story. And that realisation seems, slowly but surely, to permeate the gambling industry.