The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) will open an awarding procedure in January 2027 for the Dutch totalisator licence, the single statutory monopoly on land-based pool betting on horse races, for the period from 1 July 2027 to 30 June 2032.
Applications can be filed from 4 to 31 January 2027, the KSA said in its announcement of 28 October 2026. Each applicant pays a €40,900 processing fee upfront, which is not refunded.
The Dutch totalisator licence
ZEbetting & Gaming Nederland BV holds the current licence, which expires on 30 June 2027. Because the totalisator is a statutory monopoly, only one licence is available for the new five-year term.
The licence covers betting on horse races under the pari-mutuel system, in which stakes go into a pool shared among winning bets. It applies only to retail betting at racetracks and in betting shops. Online horse race betting sits outside it and falls under the Dutch remote gambling licensing regime.
The holder must pay 10% of its gross gaming revenue (GGR) to the equestrian sector every month. The levy applies to bets placed that month on trotting and flat races held in the Netherlands.
Phase one: the requirements
The KSA will first test every application against a set of requirements. According to the regulator, these cover:
- legal form and place of establishment;
- continuity of the business;
- internal supervision;
- reliability;
- integrity policy;
- outsourcing policy;
- incident handling;
- prevention of excessive play, gambling addiction and gambling harm;
- prevention of play by minors;
- match-fixing policy;
- demonstrable experience in offering land-based sports betting.
The last criterion means applicants must already have offered sports betting offline.
Phase two: a draw by notary
A second phase takes place only if more than one applicant meets the requirements. In that case a notary picks the winner by an unweighted draw, which gives every qualifying applicant the same chance.
The KSA describes the procedure as open and transparent. Earlier decisions by the regulator are collected on our KSA page. Other European monopolies are also under review, including in Austria, where a leaked draft law would end the online monopoly.
Next steps
The KSA expects to publish the application form, the model licence and the procedure details on its website in December 2026. The application window opens on 4 January 2027 and closes on 31 January 2027. The new licence takes effect on 1 July 2027, the day after ZEbetting & Gaming Nederland’s current licence ends.
Source: Netherlands Gambling Authority (Kansspelautoriteit)
