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Gambling in the Netherlands: Laws and Online Gambling

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Online gambling in Netherlands: laws and player risks

Elodie explains online casino rules in Netherlands, the evidence on player enforcement, offshore risks and how to assess available options. Checked 8 November 2026.

Video transcript and official sources → · Country video guides →

Published by Casino News Daily editorial teamReviewed byFilip RadulovicOur editorial approach

The Netherlands opened a licensed online gambling market on 1 October 2021, after decades in which no licence for online gambling could be obtained. The legal basis is the Betting and Gaming Act (Wet op de kansspelen, Wok) of 1964, as amended by the Remote Gambling Act (Wet kansspelen op afstand, Koa), which entered into force on 1 April 2021. Online casino games, sports betting and poker may now be offered by private operators that hold a licence from the Netherlands Gambling Authority (Kansspelautoriteit, Ksa). In return, licensees must meet strict duties of care, connect to a national self-exclusion register and pay a gambling tax that has risen sharply since 2024. The first five-year licences expired at the end of September 2026, and on 17 September 2026 the Ksa granted the first eight follow-on licences, valid until September 2031. This guide explains the framework, the enforcement approach, the legal position of players and recent developments, including a July 2026 Supreme Court ruling on players’ claims against unlicensed operators.

Key points

Offering games of chance without a licence is prohibited by Article 1 of the Betting and Gaming Act; online operators need a Koa licence from the Ksa.
The Ksa’s Kansspelwijzer is the official register for checking whether a website, app or venue is licensed.
Licensees must check every player against the national exclusion register, Cruks; registration excludes a player for at least six months.
The gambling tax rate on operators’ gross gaming result rose from 30.5 per cent in 2024 to 34.2 per cent in 2025 and 37.8 per cent in 2026.
On 3 July 2026 the Supreme Court held that gambling contracts with unlicensed online operators are not void merely because the operator lacked a licence.

Regional overview: Gambling laws in the EU and the rest of Europe puts all 55 countries and territories on one map, grouped by how they regulate gambling.

Last reviewed: 20 October 2026.

Historical development

Illustrated Netherlands landmarks with reference books and documents for the relevant gambling legislation in the netherlands section

The Betting and Gaming Act was enacted on 10 December 1964. It is organised by type of game, with separate titles for the state lottery, instant lotteries, sports betting, the totalisator, the lotto, casino games and slot machines. Until 2021 it contained no licence for gambling offered at a distance, so online casino games, betting and poker could not lawfully be offered in the Netherlands, although foreign-licensed websites continued to accept Dutch customers, as the later litigation described below shows.

An independent regulator, the Kansspelautoriteit, was set up in 2012 to supervise the sector (Ksa). The Remote Gambling Act, which added a new Title Vb on “games of chance at a distance” to the 1964 Act, took effect on 1 April 2021. On 29 September 2021 the Ksa named the first ten licensed online providers, and the legal online market opened on 1 October 2021 under an open licensing system in which every applicant that meets the conditions receives a licence; 29 applications had been submitted by then (Ksa, 1 October 2021).

Legal framework

The general prohibition

Article 1 of the Betting and Gaming Act states that, except as provided for slot machines, it is prohibited to “give opportunity to compete for prizes or premiums” where the winners are chosen by chance and participants generally cannot exercise a dominant influence, unless a licence has been granted under the Act. The same article also prohibits promoting participation in such unlicensed opportunities, including those offered from outside the Kingdom in Europe; prohibits “making use” of an unlicensed opportunity “knowing that no licence has been granted” for it; and prohibits falsely suggesting that a licence exists (Wok, Article 1). Breaches of licence conditions are prohibited as well.

Remote gambling licences

Title Vb of the Act (Articles 31 to 32) governs remote gambling: the grant of licences (Articles 31a–31f), licensees’ obligations (31g–31j) and the conduct of remote gambling (31k–32). Article 4a requires licensees to take measures to prevent gambling addiction and to ensure that advertising is careful and balanced and does not give a misleading impression of the chances of winning (Wok).

The Ksa’s licensing guidance adds practical requirements. Applicants must be established in the EU or the European Economic Area, so that, since Brexit, companies established only in the United Kingdom no longer qualify; they must provide financial security of €50,000; and they may not use player data gathered during any period of unlicensed activity for registration or marketing (Ksa, Q&A on online licences). Licences are granted for five years.

EU law context

Gambling is not harmonised by EU legislation, and the Netherlands, like other member states, may restrict cross-border gambling services where this is justified by aims such as consumer protection and is applied consistently. A licence issued in another member state, such as Malta, does not authorise an operator to offer gambling in the Netherlands; equally, a Curaçao licence, issued under the law of a separate country within the Kingdom, does not replace the Dutch licence.

Regulator and licensing model

The Ksa is an independent administrative body, funded by levies on the gambling industry, whose board is appointed by the Minister of Justice and Security. It grants licences, supervises licensees, enforces the law against illegal operators, works to prevent addiction and match-fixing, informs the public and manages the Cruks register (Ksa).

The Dutch market now combines two models. Online casino games, betting and poker are open to operators that meet the licensing requirements. Land-based casino games remain with Holland Casino and the large lotteries with established operators. In May 2025 the cabinet decided to keep Nederlandse Loterij in state hands rather than privatise it, judging privatisation neither feasible nor proportionate and not in line with its gambling policy; the decision was set out in a parliamentary letter on the future of both Nederlandse Loterij and Holland Casino (Rijksoverheid, 13 May 2025).

The Ksa tightened its licensing policy from 1 January 2026. Under new policy rules published on 2 September 2025, applicants must explain how they will report significant changes, submit an exit plan for winding down their offer if a licence ends, provide an anti-money-laundering risk analysis and show their reliability; failure to comply with Dutch court rulings makes an applicant ineligible. Renewal applications from the first cohort, whose licences issued in 2021 expired at the end of September 2026, are assessed against the operator’s supervisory record, and the Ksa may refuse renewal or impose extra conditions where an operator cannot show what it has learned from past violations (Ksa, 2 September 2025). On 17 September 2026 the Ksa announced that it had granted the first eight follow-up licences, valid from October 2026 to September 2031; in assessing them it took into account violations definitively established in the previous five years, and gave some applicants additional points of attention (Ksa, 17 September 2026).

Online gambling and enforcement

Online casino games on mobile devices

Licensed operators may offer online casino games (including live casino), sports betting and poker. The Ksa advises players to check every website or app in the Kansspelwijzer before playing (Ksa, for players). Licensed sites may display the official “Vergunninghouder Kansspelautoriteit” mark.

Against unlicensed operators, the Ksa relies chiefly on the administrative enforcement powers in Titles VIa and VIb of the Act, which include fines. Past conduct also matters at the licensing stage: applicants may not use data collected from Dutch players during unlicensed activity, and the 2026 policy rules exclude applicants that do not comply with Dutch court rulings.

The Ksa also regulates the conduct of licensed operators. Its policy rule on responsible gambling, most recently published on 3 June 2024, sets out obligations on addiction prevention and advertising for online operators, land-based lottery and betting providers and gaming arcades. The revised rule took full effect on 1 October 2024 and, among other changes, requires operators to apply a financial deposit threshold (stortingsgrens) (Ksa, November 2024). Since 1 October 2024, players must contact the operator before setting a monthly deposit limit above €350, or €150 for players under 24. Operators must check affordability for deposits above €700 a month, or €300 for players under 24 (Rijksoverheid, 20 June 2024). This comes on top of the statutory requirement that every player set limits on login time, deposits and account balance before registering; a player can lower a limit at once, but an increase takes effect only after at least a week (Remote Gambling Decree, Article 4.14).

Advertising is tightly restricted. Under the Decree on recruitment, advertising and addiction prevention (Besluit werving, reclame en verslavingspreventie kansspelen), online operators may use only specifically targeted advertising; they may not advertise in print, broadcast media or public places, and online advertising is allowed only where the operator can show that at least 95 per cent of the people reached are aged 24 or over. Advertising may not be aimed at vulnerable groups, including minors, 18 to 24-year-olds and people who have excluded themselves. Sponsorship counts as advertising: new rules from 1 July 2024 ended most sponsorship, and sports sponsorship was allowed only until 1 July 2025 (Ksa, November 2024).

Position of players

The Dutch position is more nuanced than in many countries. Article 1(1)(c) of the Betting and Gaming Act formally prohibits “making use” of an unlicensed gambling opportunity when the player knows that no licence has been granted for it. The Ksa’s published guidance for players, however, concentrates on the risks of playing with illegal providers and on how to find licensed ones, rather than on sanctions against players, and no published record of fines or prosecutions of individual players was identified for this guide. Players should nonetheless be aware that the prohibition exists.

The civil-law position was clarified in 2026. In a series of cases, players had argued that their contracts with online casinos that lacked a Dutch licence were void, so that they could reclaim their losses. On 3 July 2026, answering preliminary questions referred by lower courts, the Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) held that such gambling contracts are not void merely because the operator had no licence: the Betting and Gaming Act relies on administrative and criminal enforcement, not on the civil nullity of contracts (ECLI:NL:HR:2026:1159). According to a commentary on the ruling, players may still rely on other grounds, such as defects of consent or a claim in tort (onrechtmatige daad) where an operator breached a duty of care. The Dutch approach therefore differs from that of Germany and Austria, where courts have widely allowed players to reclaim losses from unlicensed operators.

Taxation

Gambling tax (kansspelbelasting) is levied on operators. For online gambling the base is the gross gaming result, that is, the difference between stakes and prizes (Ondernemersplein, Dutch government business portal). The rate was 30.5 per cent in 2024 and rose to 34.2 per cent on 1 January 2025. Since 1 January 2026 the rate has been 37.80 per cent (Belastingdienst). Gaming-machine operators also pay a separate levy to the Ksa.

Because the tax on licensed online gambling is paid by the operator, players at sites licensed by the Ksa do not file a return or pay gambling tax on their winnings. Players who gamble online with a provider that lacks a Dutch licence are in a different position: according to the tax authority, they must file a return and pay gambling tax themselves for any calendar month in which their winnings exceed their stakes (Belastingdienst).

Consumer protection and responsible gambling

Cruks. The Central Register of Exclusion from Games of Chance (Centraal Register Uitsluiting Kansspelen) is a national self-exclusion register. After registration, a player cannot gamble with Dutch-licensed providers, online or in venues, for at least six months (Rijksoverheid). Registration can be made online via cruksregister.nl. The Ksa can also register a player involuntarily under its 2021 policy rules on involuntary registration.
Duty of care. Article 4a of the Act and the Ksa’s responsible-gambling policy rule require licensees to take measures to prevent addiction.
Help. The Ksa directs players with concerns to OpenOverGokken, and the government refers people with gambling problems to Loket Kansspel. The Ksa’s general information line is 070 302 13 00 (weekdays 9:00–13:00).

Our responsible gambling guide explains general tools such as deposit limits and time-outs, and our slots guide, blackjack guide and roulette guide explain how the games work, separately from the question of which operators are licensed.

Recent and upcoming developments

Licence renewals. The first five-year Koa licences expired at the end of September 2026. On 17 September 2026 the Ksa granted the first eight follow-on licences, valid from October 2026 to September 2031, under the stricter 2026 policy rules (Ksa, 17 September 2026).
Supreme Court ruling. The Hoge Raad’s decision of 3 July 2026 substantially limits loss-recovery claims based on the nullity of contracts with unlicensed operators, while leaving tort-based claims open.
Tax. The gambling tax rate rose to 37.80 per cent on 1 January 2026, completing the two-step increase from 30.5 per cent (Belastingdienst). The 2027 tax plan, presented in September 2026, keeps the rate at 37.8 per cent (Rijksoverheid, Fiscale sleuteltabel 2027).
Policy review. In February 2025 the government announced a fundamental change of course in gambling policy, including tighter advertising rules, an overarching deposit limit with an affordability check, stricter duty-of-care requirements, more enforcement powers for the Ksa such as blocking illegal websites, and a possible minimum age of 21 for the riskiest games; drafting of a bill was expected to start at the end of 2025 (Rijksoverheid, 14 February 2025). On 12 June 2026 the cabinet set out the package in more detail: a ban on online gambling advertising and on bonuses, an overarching deposit limit that players can raise only after an affordability test, and indefinite voluntary Cruks registration. It is also studying a limit on the number of licences. The measures still need a bill, and no timetable has been given (Rijksoverheid, 12 June 2026). NOS reported that the idea of a minimum age of 21 had been dropped (NOS, 12 June 2026). At the annual parliamentary committee debate in early September 2026 these measures were still under discussion, and the Ksa’s chair noted that a power to block illegal websites had not yet been introduced and that about half of the money Dutch people gamble goes to the illegal market (Ksa, 11 September 2026).
Enforcement and supervision. On 23 September 2026 the Ksa published new guidance on the closure of player accounts, and on 2 October 2026 it warned of lottery fraud using a forged licence (Ksa news).

Sources and further reading

Overheid.nl, Wet op de kansspelen (accessed 5 October 2026).
Overheid.nl, Wet op de kansspelen, artikel 1 (accessed 5 October 2026).
Kansspelautoriteit, About the Netherlands Gambling Authority (accessed 5 October 2026).
Kansspelautoriteit, Kansspelwijzer (accessed 5 October 2026).
Kansspelautoriteit, Voor spelers (accessed 5 October 2026).
Kansspelautoriteit, Vraag & antwoord vergunning online kansspelen (accessed 5 October 2026).
Kansspelautoriteit, Nieuwe Beleidsregels vergunningverlening kansspelen op afstand vanaf 1 januari 2026 (2025).
Kansspelautoriteit, Beleidsregel verantwoord spelen (2024).
Kansspelautoriteit, Beleidsregels onvrijwillige inschrijving Cruks (2021).
Kansspelautoriteit, News: first renewed online licences (17 September 2026) and other notices (accessed 5 October 2026).
Hoge Raad, ECLI:NL:HR:2026:1159 (25/00202, 25/00204) (2026).
Cassatieblog.nl, Kansspelovereenkomsten met een illegale aanbieder zijn niet nietig (2026).
Rijksoverheid, Regels kansspelen (accessed 5 October 2026).
Ondernemersplein (KVK), Kansspelbelasting (accessed 5 October 2026).
Kansspelautoriteit, Namen 10 aanbieders online kansspelen bekend (2021).
Kansspelautoriteit, Markt voor legale online kansspelen open (2021).
Rijksoverheid, Nederlandse Loterij blijft in staatshanden (2025).
Kansspelautoriteit, Eerste vervolgvergunningen voor online kansspelen verleend (2026).
Kansspelautoriteit, Reflectie Beleidsregel verantwoord spelen met technisch overleg (2024).
Overheid.nl, Besluit kansspelen op afstand, artikel 4.14 (accessed 14 October 2026).
Overheid.nl, Besluit werving, reclame en verslavingspreventie kansspelen (accessed 14 October 2026).
Kansspelautoriteit, Kansspelautoriteit grijpt in bij goksponsoring (2024).
Belastingdienst, Ik heb een prijs gewonnen: moet ik nu kansspelbelasting betalen? (accessed 14 October 2026).
Rijksoverheid, Fundamentele koerswijziging kansspelbeleid (2025).
Kansspelautoriteit, Blog Michel Groothuizen: opiniestuk commissiedebat kansspelen (2026).

Casino listings for players in the Netherlands

The table below is generated automatically from our casino database. It lists operators that accept players from the Netherlands; inclusion does not mean that an operator holds a Dutch licence. Only operators licensed by the Kansspelautoriteit may lawfully offer online gambling to Dutch residents. Check the exact website and operator in the Ksa’s Kansspelwijzer before playing.

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