The Netherlands will embark on a “fundamental change of course in gambling policy”, with a new gambling bill set to be proposed to the House of Representatives (Kamer) by the end of 2025.

The announcement was made by the State Secretary for Legal Protection, Teun Struycken, in response to the “worrying results” of the evaluation of the Remote Gambling Act (KOA), undertaken by the Kamer’s policy agencies in 2023 and 2024.

In a statement submitted by Struycken to the government on 14 February, he declared: “The most important principle in the new vision is the protection of all citizens against the risks of negative effects of gambling, such as addiction or debt.

“Special attention must be paid to minors and young adults. The reason for this change of course is that the current gambling policy does not yet sufficiently protect people against the risks of gambling.”

Responding to the KOA evaluations, the Kamer detailed that the current regime was grounded in policies set in 2011, which placed too much accountability on consumers and operators.

As such, the Netherlands’ conservative coalition government will propose a new gambling bill prioritising a “new vision of prevention and protection over individual responsibilities”.

The mandate places an optimal focus on protecting minors and consumers under the age of 24, recognising that this player group is most exposed to gambling risks.

Further policies will be introduced to safeguard Dutch online gambling consumers from engaging in illegal online gambling and to close loopholes exploited by black-market operators.

“The current vision dates from 2011 and assumes a great deal of personal responsibility for players and providers. This vision offers too little room for the necessary fundamental changes to the law on online gambling.

“That is why the State Secretary is introducing a new vision on gambling, in which the most important goal is to protect all citizens against the risks of gambling.”

Vision on Youth Protections

As proposed by Struycken, the new Dutch gambling bill will include:

• Raising the Minimum Age – The minimum age for participating in “high-risk” online games will be increased to 21.
• Stronger Consumer Protections – Dutch operators must implement an “overarching deposit limit” with a financial capacity test.
• Stricter Duty of Care Requirements – Gambling operators will be subjected to stricter customer protection regulations.
• Tighter Advertising Restrictions – The new bill will revise existing advertising rules, imposing stricter limitations to reduce the coverage and appeal of gambling ads.
• Enhanced Enforcement Powers for Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) – The Netherlands’ gambling authority will be granted greater powers to block black-market websites and enhance oversight of operator conduct.

Struycken to fix online gambling liabilities

A minister from the New Social Contract (NSC) party, Struycken was appointed as Secretary for Legal Protection in July by the Netherlands’ new coalition government, taking charge of the review of the KOA regime.

He replaced former minister Franc Weerwind, whose tenure saw KOA laws revised to introduce a near-blanket ban on all forms of gambling advertising and the implementation of mandatory checks on monthly deposit limits: €350 for players aged 25+ and €150 for players under 25.

Changes adopted in the summer of 2024 saw KOA licensees ordered to implement a mandatory deposit limit of €700 and €300 for under-25 accounts, with operators required to conduct one-on-one customer care checks on individual accounts that reached these thresholds.

Though KOA laws have been significantly revised since the regime’s launch on 1 October 2021, its framework continues to be scrutinised by ministers.

In November, following an evaluation of gambling protections by the Scientific Research and Data Centre (WODC), opposition parties ChristenUnie (CU) and the Socialist Party (SP) collaborated to propose a new Gambling Bill to the Kamer.

Criticism was led by reformists Michiel van Nispen (SP) and Mirjam Bikker (CU), who argued that despite the increased controls applied to KOA, the regime had failed due to the heightened engagement of under-24s in gambling – deemed a ‘glaring liability’ by reformists as to the abject failure of KOA’s design and policies.

Secretary Struycken responded: “In 2021, the online gambling market was legalised. Since then, the number of people who have started gambling online has increased. In addition, the number of risk and problem gamblers is also increasing, especially among minors and young adults.

“Although various adjustments have been made since legalisation to better protect online gambling players, such as the ban on non-targeted advertising and the rules regarding playing limits, more is needed.”

The Secretary for Legal Protection stated that all parties would be heard in the “necessary preparations to amend laws governing gambling”.

Due to ongoing concerns, the government “will explore the possibility of implementing certain measures sooner, such as further tightening duty of care requirements and strengthening advertising restrictions”.

The statement concluded that a draft bill is expected to be formulated by the end of 2025, with the State Secretary bringing the issue of illegal gambling to a European level – “advocating for a coordinated approach to tackling unregulated gambling markets across member states”.

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