DATA in action

Data is the driving force behind many of the activities at Nederlandse Loterij. It helps us better understand our players, supports responsible gaming, and strengthens the impact of various services and products – from lotteries to sports betting. But how exactly does Nederlandse Loterij use data to achieve its ambitions? And what role do new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), play in this?

Thomas Rodenburg, who is responsible for data management, explains why data plays such a crucial role at Nederlandse Loterij: “Data enables us to better understand our players. If we want to respond effectively to the choices players make on a daily basis, we need to understand what drives them. What are their preferences? What are they interested in? At the same time, promoting responsible gaming remains our top priority. We want to prevent players from experiencing harm from participating in our games. Data helps us strike the right balance between what engages players and promoting responsible play.”

Data across the organization

The data management department serves as a facilitating and connecting force within Nederlandse Loterij. “We make sure player data is centrally available, high-quality, and up to date. We also ensure that other departments can make use of it,” Thomas explains. “Data forms the foundation for a wide range of activities: from predictive models, marketing campaigns, and reporting to responsible gaming and, increasingly, personalization on our website and app. We also share gameplay data with the Gambling Authority in near real time, enabling them to monitor whether rules and regulations are being followed.”

“Our role is to support all departments,” Thomas continues. “We collect and process data from various systems. Where necessary, we do this in real time, for example, to monitor and prevent fraudulent behavior through our Customer & Finance Operations department. In the future, these techniques can also be used in Responsible Gaming campaigns.”

Real-time monitoring

In recent years, Nederlandse Loterij has made major advances in data management. Since the introduction of online gambling in 2021, real-time monitoring has become essential—especially due to our duty of care. This has led to the design and implementation of new systems and processes within the data management team. “These processes are now solidly in place, which gives us more time to support departments across the organization. Data is no longer just important for our online gambling offerings, but also for our lotteries. We are building an entirely new data platform: the data lakehouse. This data management system serves as a central hub where we store data and from which employees across teams can work with it. Eventually, the data lakehouse will replace our current data warehouse,” Thomas says. “This also allows us to integrate data much more effectively into our processes. In the future, a player’s action could immediately trigger a response from us. Think of a personalized message right after a new player makes their first purchase or a warning about addiction risks when we see a sharp increase in a player’s activity.”

AI and data

AI is playing an increasingly significant role in how Nederlandse Loterij uses data. “Algorithms and AI models should help us recognize patterns in gameplay behavior,” Thomas explains. “In the future, we want to develop self-learning systems that can identify risky and fraudulent behavior even more effectively. These systems can alert us, but actual intervention will always be done by people. Of course, we do this in close collaboration with other departments.”

Making data accessible to everyone

One of the biggest challenges is making data accessible across the entire organization. “There’s a high demand for data, but we can’t support everyone individually,” says Thomas. “That’s why we aim to empower our colleagues to be more self-sufficient. Technologies like AI can help make data more understandable and usable. Imagine being able to ask our data questions and always get a correct and comprehensible answer. How cool would that be?” To this end, the data management team organizes workshops and demos to guide colleagues step by step. “We need to make our systems more user-friendly so more people can work with them independently. At the same time, we closely monitor who has access to personal or sensitive data, ensuring we continue to operate responsibly and securely.”

Looking ahead

Thomas has a clear vision for the future of the organization: “I want everyone at Nederlandse Loterij to have access to the data they need to do their job better and reach players more effectively. Data can become an even more natural part of our work, it influences how players experience everything we do. Think of websites and campaigns fully tailored to personal preferences, while we also intervene proactively in cases of risky behavior. That requires smart use of data and an agile organization.”

The right people on board

To realize these ambitions, a strong team is essential. “We are constantly learning from our experiences and always looking for creative ideas to improve our products,” says Thomas. “The work we do isn’t like working on a factory assembly line. It’s driven by curiosity, collaboration, and agility. Our mindset and culture enable us to achieve a lot, even in a complex environment.” Although finding the right people in today’s job market isn’t easy, Thomas notices that potential employees are excited when they learn about the innovative and socially relevant topics that Nederlandse Loterij is working on every day. “We want to be the most responsible gambling provider, and that resonates. With real-time monitoring, complex data flows, and the use of data for responsible gaming, we’re making a difference in the gambling world. The enthusiasm of our team keeps pushing us forward.”