Since June 30, 2022, Dutch and international celebrities are no longer allowed to appear in gambling adverts by Dutch gambling brands. The ban on role models applies to all ads for high risk games of chance including land-based casinos, sports betting, and online gambling. The ban covers all major mainstream channels such as TV, online ads, outdoor media, and newspaper ads. One of the main reasons to regulate the market was to actually offer consumer protection and avoid illegal operators targeting Dutch players. When the plans for regulation became more concrete, the Gaming Authority was given full control to take action against online casinos and other betting sites that actively targeted Dutch players. Following the announcements of the KSA on the 29th of September that all illegal online casinos will need to be shut down in November 2021, a lot of international operators decided to close down their activities on the Dutch market.
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The advertising ban on online gambling in the Netherlands came into effect on July 1, 2023, restricting untargeted advertising across various media, including television, radio, and public spaces. Starting July 1, 2024, sponsorships of television programmes and events were prohibited, marking the first stage of the phase-out. An exception was made for existing sponsorship deals signed before this date. These agreements were allowed to continue temporarily to honour contractual obligations.
Recent data by Ipsos I&O shows that 65% of the Dutch population aged 16 and older participated in at least one gambling activity within the 12 months. Excluding lottery participation, 34% of the population engaged in gambling over the past year. The survey also differentiated between gambling at physical locations and online. In addition to the Decree, the Dutch minister for Legal Protection, Sander Dekker also published two letters in which he addressed questions that were raised in previous parliamentary debates, including a cooling-off period.
Wat zijn de voordelen van legale online casino’s in Nederland?
Since October 4, 2021, players can register with the Central Register for the Exclusion of Games of Chance (Cruks) to self-exclude from gambling for a minimum of six months at all legal providers, both online and land-based. The regulated online market reached a gross gaming result of €1.39 billion in 2023, indicating substantial growth, representing a 28% increase compared to the previous year. Kindred Group confirmed in its 2023 annual report that Unibet is the market leader in the Netherlands. According to Unibet’s parent company, the online casino holds a 20% market share.
- The survey also differentiated between gambling at physical locations and online.
- Special Note on Online Scratch CardsAlthough online scratch cards are prohibited in the Netherlands, an equivalent type of game, known as “click & reveal” games, exists within the legal market.
- In October and November the first big operators announced that they were going to apply for a Dutch licence and hope to return to The Netherlands in Q2 and Q3 of 2022.
- Applicants must meet strict requirements, and historically, only about one in three applicants successfully obtains a license.
Although young adults make up only 9.5% of the Dutch population, they represented 22% of all active accounts in December 2023. On the 3rd of March 2020, the Dutch Minister of Justice submitted the Remote Gambling Decree to the Dutch Parliament’s lower chamber, the House of Representatives. The Decree is basically part of secondary legislation in which the Remote Gambling Bill is further specified. The Decree is made up of the specific conditions applicable to the right to obtain an online gambling licence and lays out essential secondary regulation. In November 2019, Sander Dekker, the Minister for Legal Protection, informed the Senate and House of Representatives that the Remote Gambling Act would take effect on January 1, 2021. However, a two-month delay was announced in September 2020, followed by an additional one-month postponement in January 2021, which fueled skepticism among both players and operators.
Operators are also required to actively monitor player behaviour and intervene when necessary to ensure compliance and safeguard players’ well-being. Tombola ceased its operations in The Netherlands on October 1, 2024, becoming the first operator to exit the Dutch market. As of October 2024, GfK and H2 Capital (PDF) states the market’s current channelisation rate is between 87% and 95%, well above the 80% target set in 2021.
Well known companies that plan to continue their operations with a Dutch KSA-licence are Flutter (PokerStars), Kindred Group (Unibet) and Betsson (most likely with Kroon Casino and Oranje Casino). Unibet stated it expected to lose €14,2 million (£12 million) per month after leaving the Dutch market and Betsson estimated a monthly impact of €2,49 million. For involuntary registration, a concerned party (e.g., a partner, family member, legal guardian, or gambling operator) can request registration through the Ksa. Young adults (aged 18-23) receive special attention due to legal protections. In 2023 (PDF) according to the this age group contributed €135 million to the gross gaming revenue www.24hod.sk (GGR), making up 9.8% of the total GGR over the past 12 months, a figure that remained stable throughout the year.
The Dutch online gambling market accepts both domestic and international operators. From October 2, 2021 online casinos have been allowed to offer their gambling products to Dutch players. Online casinos that are available in the Netherlands include Holland Casino Online, TOTO, BetCity, and Bet365. Although the market for online gambling in http://kaasinocasino-nl.nl Holland was legalised relatively late in October 2021, Dutch players had been massively visiting online casinos even before the legal market was opened. Before the legalisation of the online gambling market in the Netherlands on October 1, 2021, the size of the illegal online gambling market was estimated at approximately €750 million per year in 2020. This amount represented the total bets placed by Dutch players with unregulated online gambling operators.
Data from H2 Gambling Capital showed that Bet365 and BetCity are other major players in the country with 17% market share. After the Dutch gambling authority Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) granted the first licences on the 29th of September 2021, the first regulated online casinos opened their virtual doors in the Netherlands on the 2nd of October 2021. Since the legalisation of online gambling in the Netherlands in October 2021, gambling ads have faced ongoing pressure. A partial ban on gambling ads on TV, radio, and outdoor media was adopted in July 2023.
