Dutch Lawmakers Adopt Motions to Tighten Gambling Regulation
Netherlands.- 1 October 2026 | www.zonadeazar.com The Dutch House of Representatives has adopted a series of motions aimed at strengthening gambling regulation, with particular focus on the illegal market, advertising, player protection and the enforcement powers of the Kansspelautoriteit, KSA.
The motions do not automatically amend the Gambling Act, but they require the Government to develop measures and proposals that could later result in legislative changes.
Penalties for Digital Platforms
One adopted motion calls for a specific legal duty to be imposed on online platforms.
Under the proposal, a platform that repeatedly continues to display illegal gambling advertising after receiving removal requests from the KSA could itself be treated as committing an offence.
The regulator could then impose administrative fines or enforcement orders.
Illegal Advertising on Major Platforms
The proposal reflects difficulties faced by the KSA in removing illegal gambling advertising from large digital platforms.
The regulator has submitted thousands of removal requests each month without achieving what lawmakers consider sufficient structural results.
The motion therefore seeks to place greater responsibility on technology companies.
Central Illegal Operator List
Lawmakers also approved a motion requesting a central public list of illegal online gambling operators.
The list could be used by:
- Payment providers.
- Search engines.
- Social media platforms.
- Hosting companies.
- Other technology intermediaries.
The aim is to coordinate enforcement and blocking more effectively.
Disrupting Digital Infrastructure
Another adopted motion calls for a pilot programme targeting the infrastructure supporting illegal gambling operators.
The initiative would involve cooperation between the KSA, Public Prosecution Service and police to disrupt payments, online platforms, hosting services and other enabling infrastructure.
Where criminal offences are identified, criminal enforcement could also be used.
DNS Blocking
A further approved motion concerns the planned use of DNS blocking against foreign illegal gambling websites.
It asks the Government to ensure that users attempting to access blocked sites are shown information about online gambling risks and directed towards Cruks and appropriate support services.
Minimum Age of 21
The House also adopted a motion supporting an increase in the minimum age to 21 for the highest-risk gambling products.
The change would not take effect immediately.
The Government must first establish clear and measurable targets for reducing illegal gambling and limiting migration towards unregulated operators.
Once those conditions are met, the motion calls for the age increase to be introduced as soon as possible.
Open-Source Risk Model
Another adopted proposal asks the Government to determine how and when the KSA could use an open-source risk model developed by researchers at the University of Amsterdam.
The model is designed to identify problematic gambling behaviour using actual player activity.
It would provide the regulator with an independent benchmark alongside operators’ own risk models.
Duty of Care Oversight
The Amsterdam model could also be used to periodically compare operator risk assessments against an external system.
This could strengthen KSA supervision of duty-of-care obligations and improve early identification of potentially harmful gambling behaviour.
Full Advertising Ban Rejected
Not every proposal received parliamentary support.
Lawmakers rejected a motion seeking a complete ban on all gambling advertising, both online and offline.
The Government is already developing a ban specifically targeting online gambling advertising, but Parliament did not support extending that restriction to all gambling products.
State Withdrawal Proposal Rejected
The House also rejected a motion calling for a scenario in which the Dutch state would fully withdraw from gambling operations, including state interests in businesses such as Holland Casino and Staatsloterij.
Regulatory Context
The Netherlands is already preparing a wider reform of its online gambling framework.
Government priorities include stronger harm prevention, tighter advertising controls, enforcement against illegal operators and expanded KSA powers.
The newly adopted motions add specific parliamentary instructions to that process.
Next Steps or Impact
The Government must now determine how to implement the adopted motions.
Some can be developed through policy and enforcement programmes, while others will require formal amendments to the Gambling Act.
Immediate priorities are expected to include stronger action against illegal operators, greater accountability for digital platforms and additional player-protection and supervisory tools.
Editó: @fonta
