The Dutch Gambling Authority (KSA) has confirmed that the ban on influencers and streamers appearing in online gambling advertising is a core enforcement target for 2026, as part of a wider supervisory agenda aimed at cutting illegal market share and tightening player protection requirements across the licensed sector.
What the 2026 Agenda Confirms
The KSA’s Supervisory Agenda 2026 names five priority areas: combating illegal gambling, protecting vulnerable groups, monitoring operators’ duty of care, overseeing advertising compliance, and enforcing Dutch AML obligations under the Wwft.
On advertising, the agenda reaffirms that role models — a category the KSA defines to include influencers, streamers, (former) professional athletes, and other publicly known individuals — are prohibited from appearing in gambling promotions. The ban on untargeted online advertising also remains in force, and the regulator says it will act quickly against operators found to be in breach, including scrutinising how hybrid operators separate online and land-based promotion in sports sponsorship contexts.
The influencer and streamer prohibition was first introduced in April 2022 under amendments to the Remote Gambling Act. It has been progressively reinforced alongside a series of broader advertising restrictions: a general ban on untargeted advertising across TV, radio, print, and out-of-home media came into effect in July 2023; sponsorship of television programmes and events was prohibited in July 2024; and a full sports sponsorship ban followed in July 2025. The KSA has stated that public displays of gambling sponsorship have now largely disappeared from the Dutch market.
Illegal Market Growth Complicates Enforcement Picture
The KSA’s stated goal for 2026 is to maintain at least 90% of players with licensed operators. That target is currently out of reach. Channelisation measured by GGR fell below 50% in the first half of 2025, meaning more than half of Dutch online gambling spend now flows to unlicensed operators.
Peter-Paul de Goeij, founder of the Netherlands Online Gambling Association (NOGA), has put the figure at 51% flowing to the illegal market, arguing that advertising restrictions designed to protect players have instead driven them toward unlicensed platforms that offer bonuses, fewer limits, and crypto payment options beyond the KSA’s enforcement reach.
To address this, the regulator says it will expand enforcement against the infrastructure supporting illegal operators — payment providers, hosting companies, social media platforms, affiliates, and B2B game suppliers serving unlicensed sites. The agenda also references the EU’s Digital Services Act as a potential additional tool for removing illegal gambling content from major online platforms.
Earlier enforcement actions against influencers have already set a precedent. In 2025, the KSA sanctioned three social media personalities — identified as Stiefunspeelt, Turcos, and Buurtwachtt — for promoting unlicensed gambling operators on YouTube and Instagram. Each was ordered to remove all gambling content within 48 hours, with fines of €25,000 per violation capped at €75,000 per individual. The regulator warned at the time that it would escalate by working directly with social media platforms if influencers failed to comply.
Under-24 Protection and AML Tightening
The second major theme in the 2026 agenda is reducing gambling exposure among minors and young adults aged 18 to 24. The KSA says it is seeing minors reach licensed sites through adults’ accounts and accessing unlicensed platforms with weak or absent age verification. Research using data from the national control database is underway to better understand young adult gambling behaviour at licensed operators, with results expected to inform additional protective measures during the year.
A consumer information platform, Open over Gokken, is set to launch in the first months of 2026, alongside awareness campaigns tied to the national self-exclusion register, Cruks.
On AML, the KSA has signalled an intensification of Wwft supervision across online operators and Holland Casino, covering risk assessments, customer due diligence, reporting of unusual transactions, and record-keeping obligations. Additional AML changes in 2026 are expected to expand the KSA’s remit to more regulated parties and introduce new responsibilities, including supervision of financial sanctions and cash limits.
Licence Renewal Pressure Building
The 2026 agenda lands against a significant structural deadline: the first five-year online gambling licences issued in October 2021 expire in October 2026. All operators seeking renewal must now submit exit plans, Wwft risk analyses, and evidence of how they have addressed any compliance breaches recorded over the past five years. Operators that have failed to comply with enforceable court rulings face potential licence denial.
The KSA has also recently flagged concerns about the normalisation of gambling in Dutch society, a theme it says will inform both its regulatory and public awareness work through the year. With the Remote Gambling Act under parliamentary review and licence renewals on the horizon, the regulator’s enforcement posture through 2026 will shape both the competitive landscape and the policy debate for years beyond it.
Source: Kansspelautoriteit (KSA)
