Online Gambling in the Netherlands

After years of delay, the Netherlands has finally regulated online gambling. Since April this year, casinos can apply for a license to offer their games and bonuses online. Only 10 online casinos have actually received a license from the Kansspelautoriteit so far. They have been able to legally operate in the country from the 1st of October. Read on to discover what legal online gambling in the Netherlands will look like, what the rules are exactly and whether advertising is allowed.

Legalization of online gambling

Although many Dutch people have been gambling online for years, this was never officially allowed. Previously, lovers of casino games could only visit international gambling sites. Now you can also play at Dutch sites. At the Holland Casino website, for example. In recent years, the gaming authority has taken strict action against gambling sites that focus on Dutch players. If casinos, for example, used the Dutch language, they were heavily fined by the Gaming Authority.

The Betting and Gaming Act

The Gaming Act for online casinos concerns the legalization of online gambling in the Netherlands. This law came into effect on April 1st of this year. However, the “online gambling law” was not a free pass for Dutch online casinos. Before casinos can actually offer their games online to Dutch people, they need a license. This is issued by the Gaming Authority. Applying for the license carries a price tag of €50.000. There are also many other costs. The gaming authority has an intensive process to test whether the casino in question meets the requirements.

Online casino advertising

You may think: online gambling is legalized in the Netherlands, now we will probably see advertising everywhere. But that is not the case. Online gambling sites are only allowed to advertise if they are licensed by the KSA. So far there are only 10 companies who were able to obtain this license. The requirements to obtain a Dutch license are quite strict. For this reason the advertisements will not be too present. Advertisements are also not allowed to target people under 25. Furthermore, it is forbidden to use top athletes to advertise for online casinos.

Benefits of legalization

For a progressive country like the Netherlands, it is remarkable that online gambling was not officially regulated until 2021. Although opinions are divided on what this means for the gambling behavior of the Dutch, a few things are clear. First, the Netherlands will lose less tax money. In 2016, this was estimated at €100 million annually. In addition, legalization ensures that problem gamblers can be monitored more efficiently. If you play at a Dutch online casino, your player account will be linked to your bank account and BSN number.

How about online casino iDeal?

Now that only a select few casinos have been chosen to offer online casino games to Dutch players, only these 10 casinos can offer online casino iDeal. It’s blocked for all other operators that operate illegally in the market. Please refer to this list to see in which online casinos you can use online casino iDeal at any given time.