The Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Netherlands' national gambling regulator, published its annual enforcement summary for 2025, revealing that total fines issued across the year reached €9.4 million. The violations covered a range of compliance failures by both licensed and unlicensed operators, with the most common breaches relating to age verification, advertising targeting restrictions and responsible gambling obligations.
The Dutch Market Since 2021
The Netherlands opened its regulated online gambling market to licensed operators on October 1, 2021. Before that date, online gambling by Dutch-facing operators was prohibited, though it was widely available through offshore sites. The regulator has been actively enforcing its framework since launch, targeting both licensed operators that breach conditions and unlicensed sites that continue to target Dutch players.
The CRUKS national self-exclusion register — a requirement for all licensed operators — now has hundreds of thousands of registered exclusions. KSA licence holders are obligated to check every new registration against the CRUKS database before allowing play.
Main Violation Categories
The KSA's 2025 enforcement summary broke down fines across the following categories:
- Age verification failures — the largest category by fine value, including cases where operators failed to adequately verify player age before allowing deposits
- Advertising targeting — promotional material that targeted under-24s or vulnerable groups, in breach of Dutch advertising regulations that prohibit "role models" under 25 in gambling ads
- CRUKS compliance failures — operators that allowed players on the self-exclusion register to continue gambling
- Responsible gambling tool deficiencies — operators that did not provide mandatory deposit limits or did not prompt players to set them at registration
Unlicensed Operators
The KSA also continued its enforcement action against unlicensed operators targeting Dutch players. Under Dutch law, the regulator can issue fines to offshore operators and demand that payment processors and internet service providers block access to unlicensed sites. Several major offshore casinos received cease-and-desist orders in 2025.
Playing Safely in the Netherlands
Dutch players should only use operators that are listed in the KSA's public register of licensed operators, available at kansspelautoriteit.nl. Licensed operators are required to allow Dutch-language support, accept CRUKS exclusions, offer Dutch payment methods including iDEAL, and comply with all responsible gambling obligations.
Published: January 30, 2026 · Category: Regulation