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The Netherlands is looking to once again review its regulatory environment for online gambling, two years after the last review. The Remote Gambling Act has been in place since late 2021, and has been reviewed once already in late 2024, but it seems that the Dutch regulatory body is unsatisfied with several aspects of the regulation.
The Netherlands has had legal online gambling for almost five years, having launched the Remote Gambling Act in October 2021. The law was reviewed once already, in September of 2024, as Dutch law stated that it must be reviewed within three years of its inception. There are indications that policymakers and the Dutch gambling regulator, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), are setting up to do another review of the Remote Gambling Act, seeking to investigate if it is achieving its aims and doing everything they need it to.
The Remote Gambling Act (Wet kansspelen op afstand, or KOA) legalized online gambling and betting activities and also set forth all of the conditions that operators like the ones listed at Beterebonus.com must meet in order to hold a license for those activities. But as time has gone on, Dutch regulators seek to reassess and ensure that the regulatory environment they provide is one that provides a good level of protection and responsible gambling tools to players, while also allowing for the industry to be competitive and healthy.
Let's take a closer look at what exactly the Remote Gambling Act does, how it has changed over time and what might be in the sights of Dutch regulators throughout 2026.
What Did the Remote Gambling Act Do?
In a nutshell, the Remote Gambling Act legalized online gambling in the Netherlands. Before the KOA Act, online gambling was prohibited in the Netherlands, but, like many other jurisdictions, offshore platforms that served Dutch people were difficult to police or stop. This dichotomy was one of the driving factors behind the introduction of the Remote Gambling Act.
With the KOA Act, Dutch regulators sought to create a domestic online gambling market that they could ensure would provide services that met Dutch consumer protection laws. Operators would be able to get licences, but would have to abide by oversight from the Dutch regulatory body, the KSA, and remain compliant with any relevant regulations. As of October 1, 2021, the KOA Act was implemented.
The aim of the new regulatory environment was to achieve, among other things, the following:
- Bring players to regulated platforms.
- Protect players from gambling harm.
- Stop fraud and illegal operators.
- Make sure that the games offered were fair and transparent.
How Did the Regulated Market Fare Initially
The gap between the market opening and international gambling operators acquiring licences from the KSA and opening regulated platforms was relatively small. All kinds of online gambling activities, from slots to poker and betting, were soon legally available to Dutch residents.
The initial movement of Dutch gamblers away from offshore platforms towards licenced operators was encouraging. Part of the aim of the Remote Gambling Act, to increase the channelization of players towards regulated platforms, seems to have been at least somewhat successful.
But while the KSA was happily reporting that a significant majority of Dutch players were now engaging in legal online gambling, making use of offers like this SpinPanda no deposit bonus, rather than playing on offshore markets, other elements of the new regulatory environment were not going so well. The rapid expansion of the market caused concern in other areas, mostly around the increasing prevalence of gambling advertising and increased participation in gambling activities.
A New Regulatory Environment Brought New Concerns
As many other jurisdictions around the world have found, legalized gambling markets often lead to large numbers of gambling adverts being pushed. Gambling operators make lots of money, and the market they operate in is a competitive one. These facts drive them to invest rather heavily in advertising. Advertisements on television, through sponsorships with sport and on online platforms became relatively common.
This increased level of gambling advertising led to a slow but steady increase in political and public pressure. Concerns, particularly about young and vulnerable people being exposed to these ads, were being voiced.
This led to one of the biggest changes to the Remote Gambling Act since its inception. In 2023, the Dutch government introduced a ban on untargeted advertising. With this ban, operators could no longer release mass advertising campaigns, but instead had to target adults who would already be interested in gambling with their ads.
The idea is that operators could still do what they needed to do to stay competitive, but the impact and visibility of gambling advertising on the wider public would be much reduced.
The Online Gambling Act is Reviewed
In late 2024, the first review of the Remote Gambling Act occurred. As mandated by Dutch law, the Act had to be reviewed for successful achievement of goals within three years of its introduction. This first review was intended to ascertain if the Act had lived up to its stated goals, and more specifically, if it had successfully created a viable legal market that provided protection for players.
This initial review highlighted a number of areas that the KSA and Dutch policymakers were unhappy with. In essence, while some aspects of the Remote Gambling Act's goals were seen as being met, protecting players sufficiently was not. Soon after this review, new regulatory rules were introduced to try to remedy these issues.
These new regulations, which included mandatory affordability checks for players as well as stricter deposit limits, were introduced in October of 2024. The idea was to make sure that players were never spending more money than they could afford to lose.
What is the KSA's Focus in 2026?
As we approach yet another period of review for the Remote Gambling Act, the KSA has already publicly outlined some key areas that they intend to focus on throughout 2026 and into the future.
The biggest stated point of focus for the KSA throughout 2026 is to fight against illegal gambling operators. In a similar vein to many other jurisdictions throughout Europe, the KSA plans to target not only illegal operators, but also the infrastructure around them that helps to support them. This means that payment providers, social media platforms and hosting services will face increased scrutiny.
With one of the key focuses of the Remote Gambling Act being player protection, it should come as no surprise that one of the big goals for 2026 is to continue to strengthen many of the player protection mechanisms that are already in place. This includes faster action when gambling harm is detected and an increased level of scrutiny on the carrying out of effective affordability checks.
Final Thoughts
While the points of emphasis might shift as the market changes and responds to new technology or regulatory changes, the main overview of the Dutch online gambling market is still to ensure that it provides its players with a secure and safe place to play. As to what the next review might uncover, in terms of what is lacking or needs additional attention, that is something that only the future and the KSA can answer.
As for 2026, stakeholders in the Dutch online gambling market should expect increasing scrutiny of illegal operators and the framework that helps them continue running, as well as continued strengthening of player protections.
- B.E. Delmer, Gambling911.com
