Kansspelautoriteit tenders OpenOverGokken helpline operation

The Kansspelautoriteit has started a European tender for the operation of the OpenOverGokken helpline, according to the tender documents published on TenderNed. The organisation awarded the contract must have taken over the helpline in full by 1 October 2027.

Between €700,000 and €1m a year including VAT is available for the service. The agreement is initially for three years, to 30 September 2030, and the Kansspelautoriteit can extend it twice by two years, giving a possible total term of seven years. TenderNed gives an estimated value of €7m excluding VAT for the full possible contract duration.

The future operator must provide expert support, identify problems and make independent referrals. Diagnostics and structural treatment are explicitly excluded from the assignment. The helpline is intended for initial reception, information, short-term support and guiding people towards suitable help.

The new tender no longer requires full availability overnight. The telephone helpline is currently reachable 24 hours a day; under the new setup, telephone, chat and WhatsApp must be available daily between 06.00 and 00.00 at least, with a clear route for acute situations during the night.

Interested parties can first submit an indicative registration, which is used for a round of talks with the Kansspelautoriteit and does not yet determine the final ranking. A definitive registration follows, with the best price-quality ratio deciding. The deadline for indicative registration is 3 December 2026 at 12.00, and definitive registrations must be received by 15 January 2027 at 12.00.

Candidates must meet experience requirements. A bidder must have carried out at least €50,000 of work in the past three years in accessible support for gambling problems, and must have experience with a social information or help line averaging at least 300 contacts a month.

OpenOverGokken was launched in September 2025 as the successor to Loket Kansspel. The platform addresses consumers seeking information about gambling more broadly, while Loket Kansspel focused more on gambling problems and assistance. After the name change the helpline remained with Human Assistance Network for Daily Support (HANDS 24×7), which had previously set up Loket Kansspel.

The Kansspelautoriteit held a market consultation on the helpline beforehand, and six parties responded. The consultation indicated that market parties value an accessible, independent and anonymous helpline with sufficient expertise to recognise gambling harm, debt problems and crisis signals, among other things. The tender was also announced on the Kansspelautoriteit's LinkedIn page.

It is not the Kansspelautoriteit's first large player-protection tender this year. The procedure for national blocking software went less smoothly: the Kansspelautoriteit withdrew the provisional award to BetBlocker after competitor Gamban challenged the decision legally, and both original bids were ultimately declared invalid, according to reporting by EGR. In September the regulator started a new tender for that blocking software, which must let consumers block gambling sites and apps on their devices and is intended as a supplement to Cruks, among other measures.