Two Sides of the Same Coin: The Duality of Responsible Gaming within the Dutch Gambling Market

In contemporary society, gambling firms are put under both lawful and societal pressure as they are expected to positively contribute to society, extending beyond focusing on their profit (Carroll, 2015). This growing appeal for corporate social responsibility (CSR) has constituted prominence among organizations and scholars, resulting in an abundance of scrutiny among both parties (Christensen, Morsing & Thyssen, 2013). In the gambling sector, it is argued that CSR refers to the responsibility of diminishing the adverse corporate footprint of gambling products; negative effects which could ultimately lead to gambling addiction. Naturally, the increasing importance of CSR has gone hand in hand with the growing corporate desire to minimize (further) societal harm caused by the gambling sector. The current research aims to explore this explicit sense of corporate responsibility, which is addressed through responsible gaming (RG) strategies. This research contributes to a better understanding of the stakeholder perspective of Responsible Gaming in the context of the Dutch gambling sector. More specifically, a qualitative in-depth interview method is utilized to explore how internal and external stakeholders in the Dutch lottery sector value and regard the concept of Responsible Gaming in relation to CSR. In turn, the research question is explored: ‘How do CSR-based responsible gaming strategies impact the perspective of stakeholders in the Dutch lottery sector?’. Through a thematic analysis, the results suggest that responsible gaming is becoming more important among all stakeholders, yet there is an internal clash between company goals, as making a profit is often a bigger priority. In addition, although internal responsible gaming communication strategies are established, the external communication strategies are marginal and employees are still looking for ways to effectively implement said strategies. Moreover, stakeholders raise conflicting thoughts on the notion of RG as a unique selling point (USP). Finally, the value of responsible gaming in relation to the anticipated liberalization of the Dutch online gambling market, expected in 2021, is growing at a rapid pace. The stakeholders note several anticipated changes for the liberalized gambling market, being a. an increase in competitive providers, b. a higher total amount of players, c. a higher gambling sensitivity of the product offer, d. an expected growth of gambling addicts in the Dutch market. Altogether, the current research offers a conceptual bridge between what is known about the responsible gaming efforts in the gambling sector, and the lesser-known internal and external stakeholder perspectives toward these efforts.