The Dutch General Administrative Service named Michel Groothuizen chair of the Kansspelautoriteit, the government said. He is due to take up the role on 1 July, replacing René Jansen, who said in October that he would not seek another term.
Groothuizen’s appointment sets the incoming chair of the Dutch gambling authority, replacing René Jansen.
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The State Secretary for Justice and Security announced Wiebe Ruttenberg’s appointment to the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) board. Ruttenberg will lead digital transformation, with the regulator aiming to develop data-driven tools to address illegal gambling, according to KSA chairman Michel Groothuizen.
The Kansspelautoriteit announced Carol Verheij will join its board as vice-chair on 1 March 2026. She will succeed Bernadette van Buchem, who left the regulator on 1 January, and will focus on legal frameworks, governance, integrity and compliance; the authority has not named its other part-time board member.
The Kansspelautoriteit appointed Floor van Bakkum to lead player protection within its Player Protection and Policy Advice directorate, the authority’s spokesperson said. Van Bakkum is moving from Jellinek addiction care, where she worked for more than 24 years, and said she would bring her prevention and care experience to the regulator.
The Dutch Gambling Authority said it will introduce a board with one full-time chair and two part-time members, while vice-chair Bernadette van Buchem will leave at the end of her career in government. From 1 January 2026, Michel Groothuizen will temporarily be the authority’s sole board member as it completes recruitment.
Nederlandse Loterij shareholders approved Raymond Knops as chair of the company’s supervisory board at their meeting on Friday. The appointment takes effect in the new year, succeeding Alexander Pechtold, who left after becoming mayor of Delft.