Ads, self-exclusion, tax dominate Dutch parliament session

In practice, the NGA provides affiliates 48 hours to discontinue all advertising activities for unlicensed operators. The Dutch Gaming Authority (Ksa) is monitoring compliance with the new rules and has informed its licensees about the new regulations in advance. Now that the ban is in effect, the Ksa will actively monitor how the new advertising rules and obligations for licensees are applied in practice.

• Must be at least 18 years of age or older to participate in online gambling.
• The measures included providers being required to contact players who have set a deposit limit of €350 (£303/$386).
• This would allow the NGA to more effectively supervise remote gambling licence holders.

Licensed operators hit back at gambling tax increase

Furthermore, all such offers must be for the public good, with 40% of revenue going to good causes. The land-based gambling market in the Netherlands consists of a mix of state-owned incumbents and private entities, and a multitude of licensing requirements. This section provides a general overview of licensable land-based games of chance.

The Dutch legislature takes the view that the acts and omissions of persons involved in, or surrounding, the applicant entity can affect the reliability of the applicant itself. Firstly, the slot-machine type approval will ‒ in theory ‒ remain valid unless the model has to undergo changes. Secondly, the exploitation licence is awarded by the NGA for a period of ten years. Finally, the local licences are awarded by the relevant local municipality. The offering of slot machines requires three separate documents, with different durations.

For example, an instant withdrawal casino generally provides more flexibility with higher deposit and betting limits, a greater variety of games, and modern payment options like e-wallets and cryptocurrencies. The new regulations introduce monthly deposit limits of €700 per month for adults aged 25+ and €300 per month for young adults (18-25 years old). The Netherlands Gambling Authority (Kansspelautoriteit, Ksa) is an independentadministrative body and the supervisor and regulator of gambling services in the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Ministry of Justice and Security bears the political responsibility for gambling policy in the Netherlands. Between February and July 2025, an estimated 676,000 adults participated in legal online gambling in the Netherlands. They argue that the government should focus on penalising those who run illegal gambling sites as opposed to placing restrictions on legal avenues.

Over the last year, the NGA has imposed binding instructions, cease-and-desist orders and fines ranging from €400,000 to €3 million upon licensees. Regarding licensed offers, licensees are at the risk of enforcement should they violate the BGA. Remote B2C operators are responsible for the services offered under their licence.

Some experts are already reporting that they are seeing a slow drop in the number of customers channelling into the legal Dutch market — which means they must be going elsewhere. In fact, the previous Minister for Legal Protection — the outgoing minister at the time of the vote — wanted to wait and see if the current and impending restrictions would be enough in the long run. The argument was made that the results of this deluge of advertisements that started in 2021 still live on — even after new restrictions were brought in 2023 and 2024. However, in 2024, many members of the House of Representatives believe these restrictions aren’t enough, and an outright ban may soon be implemented.

There have been no changes in the past year with regards to Acquisitions and Changes of control. Furthermore, there are no indications of forthcoming changes in this regard at the time of writing. Nevertheless, there is a remote possibility that some changes could be seen concerning this topic following the aforementioned RGA evaluation. The NGA has the ability to issue binding instructions to intermediaries, such as affiliates and PSPs, to hinder the ability of a B2C operator to reach consumers in the Netherlands. However, the NGA is not allowed to use a binding instruction in order to force a blackout of certain websites ‒ for example, via an IP or domain name system (DNS) block. A change on the front is currently discussed (see 11.4 Recent or Forthcoming Changes).

The new regulation aims to minimise gambling exposure, especially among the younger population. The restriction applies to operators and sports clubs that rely on gambling sponsorships as a significant revenue source. On the political level, in April 2024, more motions were passed, requesting, amongst other things, a ban on online advertising for remote games of chance, and a ban on games with a “very high risk” (referring to slots).

Moreover, integration with the CRUKS self-exclusion system is mandatory, providing players access to responsible gambling protections. Many applications face delays at this stage due to incomplete CRUKS integration or failure to meet AML reporting standards. Alongside tightening regulations, the Dutch government has announced an increase in gambling tax rates, rising from 30.5% to 34.2% in 2025, with another hike to 37.8% planned for 2026. While higher taxes are a challenge, they also contribute to a well-regulated market that ensures transparency and fairness. “A strong regulatory environment makes the Netherlands an attractive market in the long run,” gaming policy analyst Dr. Erik Konings added. Before offering services to Dutch consumers, all iGaming operators must secure a remote gambling license from the Netherlands Gambling Authority (Kansspelautoriteit – KSA).

Holland Casino Takes Measures to Offset Gambling Tax Increase

Licences for these sectors are referred to as semi-permanent because they are valid for a period of five years and have been reallocated to incumbent licence holders in 2022. Social games that do not include prizes or premiums are not considered to be games of chance and thus fall outside the scope of the Betting and Gambling Act (BGA). One of the primary reasons behind the government’s decision was Dutch football’s deep reliance on gambling sponsorships. Reports suggest that 33 out of 34 professional football clubs in the Netherlands had some form of gambling sponsorship. Most football clubs quickly jumped on lucrative gambling sponsorships when the market opened in 2021. Finally, and notwithstanding the above, acting in breach of the BGA could also give rise to criminal sanctions, albeit as an ultimum remedium.

• The Dutch legislature prescribes the use of enforcement measures against intermediaries as an effective weapon in driving unlicensed B2C operators from the market.
• According to the Remote Gambling Decree (RGD), the representative does not need to be a resident of – nor be established in – the Netherlands.
• Financial obligations are substantial, including a non-refundable €48,000 application fee and a €50,000 financial security deposit.
• Once eligibility is confirmed, operators must compile all necessary documents to support their application.

Licensing requirements

The letter from the State Secretary at the end of 2024 is only expected to include an outline of the possibilities concerning cross-operator limits. The discussion concerning the feasibility and desirability of the more far-reaching restrictions (advertisement ban and prohibition online slots) is still in its early stages. Administrative fines regarding illegal operators are awarded in accordance with the NGA’s fining policy, under which the base fine is EUR600,000. However, if the offender’s turnover in the Netherlands exceeds EUR15 million, the fine is 4% of turnover. The fine will be increased in certain circumstances – for example, in cases where illegal offerings are aimed at minors or where no information is provided on addiction prevention. Several forms of gambling are exempt from the “prohibited unless licensed” approach, including small-scale gambling and promotional games of chance.

Gambling providers are obliged to alert players whenever they can choose for a lower bet than the default amount shown. Providers are also required to remind players every 30 minutes via a pop-up about the duration of the gaming session and the applicable limits. The Remote Gambling Act regulates more than just the legalisation and regulation of online gambling. The Act will impose additional requirements with regard to addiction prevention on all (including land-based) operators of risky gambling. Other licensed operators (including arcades) are exempted from the AML Act requirements.

State secretary for legal protection Teun Struycken is championing the new bill. In his latest update to parliament, he suggested increasing the legal gambling age in the Netherlands to 21 for higher-risk verticals like online slots. It served as a public forum for stakeholders to suggest recommendations to the government, based on the measures likely to be included in the new gambling regulations.

Enforcement of these prohibitions takes place primarily by administrative measures, although there are no known cases of players being subject to enforcement measures for participating in unlicensed offers. There is an option to enforce via criminal law under specific circumstances, as detailed in the enforcement protocol between the NGA and the public prosecutor. Slot machines can be located in cafés or restaurants targeted towards people over 18 years of age, and in slot-machine arcades.

Working alongside the Ministry of Justice and Security and the Dutch Tax Authority, the KSA investigates violations, issues fines, and blacklists illegal operators. Operators must implement responsible gambling measures such as deposit limits, time-based playing restrictions, reality checks, and direct interventions for at-risk players. The initial set of restrictions are to come into force on 1 July; this will include the complete banning of gambling advertisements on television, radio and in public spaces such as billboards.

Should this lead to further interpretation or clarification of the rules, the sector will be informed in a timely manner by Ksa. When the Ksa encounters evident violations, it will take immediate enforcement action. Since then, the number of people who have started gambling online has increased.

Since 2023, advertising rules have been further tightened after public criticism. However, the licence provides access to one of Europe’s fastest-growing regulated markets. Below is a chronological overview of the most important licences issued by the KSA. What are your thoughts on the new regulations for the Dutch gambling industry? ComeOn Group, a well-established European online gambling operator, made the decision to join the Netherlands Online Gambling Association (NOGA). Casino operators now have new responsibilities, including investigating players who reach their deposit thresholds long before the month runs out.

According to the government’s official statement, the ban place wager aims to protect vulnerable groups from the dangers of gambling harm. The list includes minors, young adults, and those suffering from gambling addiction. In addition to the above, the remote gambling regime is currently undergoing an evaluation (required by law, three years after entry into force in 2021).

One of these tools is the CRUKS (Centraal Register Uitsluiting Kansspelen) system. Land-based casinos, land-based slot-machine arcade operators and remote gambling operators must check whether a player is registered in CRUKS before admitting the player. Players who are registered in CRUKS, regardless of whether registration was voluntary or involuntary, must not be granted access to these games of chance.

New law in the Netherlands bans untargeted advertising for online gambling

However, transitional provisions allowed some long-term sponsorship agreements, particularly in the field of sports, to remain without significant restrictions for another two years. This grace period took into account the commercial nature of the contracts and gave operators time to adapt. Over the last year (2023–2024), the NGA’s enforcement approach has been primarily two-fold. Firstly, the NGA further intensified enforcement against unlicensed operators by mainly imposing cease-and-desist orders.

Consequently, the location of the operator is not key for the NGA to exert jurisdiction, but the question will boil down to one of whether the entity holds a licence awarded by the NGA. Depending on the actual offer of the operator in question, there will be a mandatory contribution to horse racing of 10% GGR from bets placed during each month on horse/harness races organised in the Netherlands. Social gaming and skill games are under the competence of the Authority for Consumers & Markets.