Netherlands

The Netherlands regulates online gambling under the Wet Kansspelen op afstand (Koa), the Remote Gambling Act. The Act entered into force on 1 April 2021, when licence applications opened, and the legal online market opened on 1 October 2021 with 10 licensed operators. The Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa) runs an open licensing system: every applicant that meets the conditions gets a licence.

Since opening, the market has been reshaped by player-protection and advertising restrictions. The Ksa's spring 2026 monitoring report found the following:

• Gross gaming result (GGR) for the second half of 2025 was EUR 602m, steady at about EUR 100m a month but around 18% below 2024.
• About 91% of Dutch gamblers play only with licensed operators.
• Measured by money rather than players, channelisation is only 53%.

Regulator and licensing

Online licences run for a maximum of five years. The first licences, granted in September 2021, expire on 1 October 2026. To prepare for that, the Ksa revised its licensing policy rules from 1 January 2026. All applicants must now submit:

• a plan for informing the Ksa of significant changes;
• an exit plan explaining how play would be wound down if the licence ends;
• an anti-money-laundering (Wwft) risk analysis.

Failing to comply with final Dutch court judgments puts an applicant's reliability in doubt. Renewal applicants are reassessed on their addiction-prevention policy and their recruitment and advertising policy. They must also explain how they have remedied infringements established over the past five years.

On 17 September 2026 the Ksa granted the first eight follow-on licences, valid from October 2026 to September 2031. The holders are TOTO Online, Holland Casino, Play North, FPO Nederland, Bingoal Nederland, Hillside (New Media Malta), NSUS Malta and Betent.

Player-protection rules under the Ksa's responsible gaming policy rule have a direct commercial effect. The Ksa's FAQ refers to a net deposit threshold of EUR 700 a month. Once a player exceeds it, the Ksa considers it appropriate in principle to block further deposits for the rest of the calendar month, unless the player can plausibly afford more.

Key rules for affiliates

The Ksa's summary of advertising rules applies to all Koa licensees and the publishers working for them.

What is banned:

• Untargeted advertising, meaning TV, radio, print, billboards and ads in publicly accessible buildings such as cafés and cinemas. Promotional games of chance count as untargeted advertising.
• Role models, including influencers, current or former professional athletes and models.
• Sponsorship, since 1 July 2025.

What is allowed, with conditions: Advertising via the internet, direct mail, on-demand TV, social media and the gaming environment. Operators must offer an opt-out and make reasonable efforts to keep vulnerable groups away from their ads. They also face a result obligation: at least 95% of the people an ad reaches must be 24 or older. If that test fails, the ad must stop.

Unlicensed brands: Only operators with a Dutch licence may be advertised. In a 2022 letter to more than 50 affiliate sites, the Ksa said that when an operator has no licence, the affiliate site is also in breach and can be fined. It also reminded them that ads must not target minors or young adults up to 24, must be recognisable as advertising, and must make clear which operator they are for.

Enforcement against affiliates is ongoing. In February 2024 the Ksa reported that 14 of 33 websites it investigated were in breach. Some had advertised unlicensed casinos as places to play "without Cruks", the national self-exclusion register.

Recent changes

• 30 June 2022: The role-model ban took effect.
• 1 July 2023: The untargeted advertising ban took effect for online operators.
• 3 June 2024 and 1 October 2024: The revised responsible gaming policy rule took effect in two stages. The second stage covered analysing and recording play behaviour and interventions.
  • According to the spring 2025 monitoring report, the share of accounts losing more than EUR 1,000 a month fell from 4% to 1.2% after October 2024.
• 1 January 2025: Gambling tax rose from 30.5% to 34.2%, followed by a further rise to 37.8% in 2026.
  • A June 2026 monitor by the Ministry of Finance and the Ksa found the extra revenue was EUR 2m in 2025 and EUR 57m in 2026. The forecasts had been EUR 108m and EUR 216m.
• 1 July 2025: The two-year transition period for existing sports sponsorship contracts ended. The sponsorship ban now applies to online operators, including sponsorship through intermediaries and merchandise sales. The Ksa reported a near-smooth switchover.
• 1 January 2026: The new licensing policy rules took effect.
• 20 January 2026: The Ksa's 2026 supervision agenda set five priorities: illegal supply, protecting minors and young adults, duty of care, advertising, and Wwft compliance. Extra capacity is going to disrupting illegal operators' infrastructure through payment providers, hosting providers and social media companies.
• 17 September 2026: The first eight follow-on licences were granted.