ECA’s Responsible Gambling Framework Setting a clear baseline for Europe’s casinos
Petra de Ruiter, CEO of Holland Casino and ECA Board Member, explains how the European Casino Association’s updated Responsible Gambling positioning paper establishes a clear framework for members. Balancing national regulation with a shared baseline, the paper aims to safeguard players, strengthen credibility with policymakers, and ensure the long-term sustainability of the casino sector.
Petra de Ruiter, CEO of Holland Casino, plays a key role in shaping the European Casino Association’s collective approach to some of the industry’s most pressing issues. Most recently, she has been instrumental in drafting the ECA’s forthcoming positioning paper update on Responsible Gambling, which will outline the sector’s commitment to safeguarding players while sustaining the long-term credibility of the casino industry.
Te update comes at a time when regulators, policymakers, and the public are placing increasing emphasis on transparency, accountability, and player protection. For operators across Europe, the positioning paper sets out a framework for best practice and demonstrates how casinos can align their responsibilities with evolving societal expectations.
In this interview, Petra discusses the process behind updating the paper, the challenges of balancing national perspectives with a unified European stance, and why Responsible Gambling must remain central to the industry’s agenda.
Petra, when you began this project, what objectives did you set for the ECA’s positioning paper update on Responsible Gambling?
When I joined Holland Casino three years ago, I deliberately spent my first year focused on the company. After that, I joined the ECA Board because I believe in working together. Te Board asked me to lead and act as spokesperson for the Responsible Gaming working group.
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Coming from a highly regulated market like the Netherlands, the need felt obvious: we must anticipate regulation, not only react to it, and use our knowledge of guests to assess whether proposed measures actually prevent harm. Too often, rules are copied across borders without being properly evaluated or supported by gambling-specific evidence.
Did you find reliable data to underpin the update, or did you have to create a new evidence base?
Tere’s plenty of research on addiction in general, but far less on gambling specifically, especially where it overlaps with alcohol or drugs. Public debate often amplifies the loudest statistics, even if they come from very small sub-groups. Every individual case matters, of course, but policy also needs to look at the bigger picture: who is harmed, who is not, and which measures actually work.
Europe is a patchwork of regulatory regimes. How do you handle that variation?
We’re not advocating an EU-wide policy. National context really matters. But there are two priorities we share. First, illegal operators: wherever play moves to the black market, there’s no tax contribution and no protection. Second, readiness: colleagues told us, “We know stricter rules will come, so it’s better to build good practice now.” As the ECA, we want members to meet a clear baseline consistent with their national regulation, while also engaging policymakers with credible, practical proposals.
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