Michel Groothuizen Appointed New Chair of the Board of the Gambling Authority, Netherlands

Groothuizen brings a wealth of experience to his new role, as a former deputy director-general of the Penitentiary Institutions Service and previously as general director of the Dutch Institute for Forensic Psychiatry. He has also gained extensive experience in the administrative department of the Ministry of Justice and Security as policy director and FEZ director.

In response to his appointment, Groothuizen stated: "Old love does not rust. Since 2007, as policy director, among other things, I was in charge of the gambling dossier. One of my tasks was to establish the Gambling Authority. We succeeded in 2012. At that time, we had already been working for a few years on new legislation to regulate online gambling offerings. Then it took almost 10 years for the law that was supposed to regulate that to actually come into effect. I had already been gone for a long time. But I find it a wonderful challenge in this era to ensure socially responsible and safe gambling and to combat negative effects such as gambling addiction."

With his background and dedication, Michel Groothuizen promises to play an important role in promoting a safe and responsible gambling market in the Netherlands and addressing the challenges associated with this sector, including preventing gambling addiction.