The Dutch Gambling Authority (KSA) has warned that unlicensed operators are capturing close to half of all online gambling spending in the Netherlands, as its tenth biannual monitoring report shows licensed market GGR stagnating at €602m in H2 2025.
The report, published on 16 April 2026 and covering the second half of last year, shows GGR channelisation to licensed operators fell three percentage points, from 56% in H1 2025 to 53% in H2. In absolute terms, licensed GGR declined from €697m in H2 2024 to €602m in H2 2025 — a drop of roughly 14% year-on-year.
The deposit limit regime introduced in October 2024 — setting default monthly ceilings of €700 for players over 25 and €300 for those aged 18 to 25 — is cited as the primary driver of slowing licensed market performance. The gambling tax rate, currently at 37.8% of GGR, is identified as a secondary pressure.
Illegal Market Expands
The number of licensed operators rose from 30 to 31 between July and December 2025. Estimated active players at legal providers fell to 810,000 in H2, from 850,000 in H1, but active account numbers increased by nearly 100,000 over the same period. The KSA said the divergence indicates players are opening multiple accounts across operators to work around per-site deposit caps.
The shift toward unlicensed platforms is more pronounced in the player migration data. An estimated 20,000 Dutch gamblers used both legal and illegal providers in H2 2025, up from 15,000 in H1. The number betting exclusively on unlicensed platforms rose from 19,000 to 30,000. Overall player channelisation — the share of Dutch gamblers wagering exclusively with licensed operators — fell from 94% to 91%.
The Dutch market is moving against the broader European trend. Data from H2 Gambling Capital shows the licensed online gambling market across the EU grew 11% from 2024 to 2025, reinforcing the KSA’s view that domestic regulatory conditions are driving the Netherlands’ underperformance. The ongoing decline in channelisation has now become a sustained trend across multiple consecutive reporting periods.
Player Protection Concerns
The deposit limit regime has had a measurable impact on average losses. Average monthly losses per player stand at approximately €120, down more than a quarter compared to 2024 levels. The KSA noted the figure reflects players distributing activity across multiple providers rather than a genuine reduction in gambling intensity, complicating its interpretation as a consumer protection outcome.
Young adults remain a persistent regulatory concern. The KSA flagged that 18-year-olds hold the highest concentration of gambling accounts relative to their age group, and confirmed that strict enforcement of duty of care obligations will remain a central priority for licensed operators. The regulator had previously warned against the normalisation of gambling as social attitudes shift among younger demographics.
KSA Calls for Universal Spending Limit
KSA chairman Michel Groothuizen used a blog post accompanying the report to address the growing political debate around a cross-operator spending cap.
“There is much enthusiasm in politics to combat the circumvention of provider-specific deposit limits by means of an overarching gambling limit. This would put an end to hopping between different legal providers. Of course, this will not stop players from switching to illegal gambling. Fortunately, a great many Dutch people seem to value legal gambling, so perhaps the number of switchers will be lower than expected. It also means that we must keep the legal offering visible to players (so no total ban on advertising), but also that, on the other hand, the illegal market must be tackled more effectively.” — Michel Groothuizen, KSA chairman
Groothuizen’s remarks mark out a clear tension at the centre of Dutch gambling policy: tighter supply-side restrictions reduce harm among compliant players but accelerate migration to unlicensed alternatives, where no player protections apply.
Enforcement Activity Intensifies
The KSA has been increasing pressure on unlicensed operators. In March 2026, the regulator imposed a record €24.8m penalty on Novatech for providing unlicensed gambling services to Dutch players. Nederlandse Loterij has also launched civil proceedings against Qbet, which it describes as the largest illegal gambling site currently active in the Netherlands.
The spring 2026 report sets up a critical policy moment. Political momentum is building behind a universal spending limit applying across all licensed operators rather than on a per-site basis. How that measure affects black market migration will likely define the Dutch regulatory debate for the next 12 months. For licensed operators, the combination of falling channelisation, rising tax rates, and tightening duty of care requirements shows no sign of easing.
Source: Kansspelautoriteit (KSA)
