The Hague, Feb 18: The chair of the Dutch gambling regulator has welcomed the new government’s plans to strengthen player protections and crack down on illegal gambling, but warned that some proposed measures could have unintended consequences.
Michel Groothuizen, head of the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), said the regulator’s priorities are closely aligned with those of the new cabinet led by Prime Minister Rob Jetten of D66.
The coalition government, formed after the October 2025 elections, has pledged to better protect vulnerable people, strengthen the duty of care obligations for online gambling providers and intensify action against illegal gambling sites. The reforms will be overseen by Secretary for Legal Protections Claudia Van Bruggen.
“With the further strengthening of the duty of care of online gambling providers and a tougher approach to illegal gambling sites, the ambitions of the new cabinet align seamlessly with those of the KSA,” Groothuizen said in a policy statement released ahead of the government taking office.
However, he expressed strong reservations about two proposals in the coalition agreement, beginning with a plan to impose a complete ban on online gambling advertising, in addition to an existing ban on sports sponsorships.
“Let me first say that I understand the negative emotions among politicians about gambling advertising,” he wrote, describing the sector as having a “bling bling” factor that can provoke irritation.
Groothuizen said the advertising landscape has already become significantly calmer and more tightly regulated, with excesses on the licensed market now rarely seen. According to KSA data, more than 60,000 gambling advertisements targeting Dutch users appear each month on Facebook and Instagram, but fewer than 2,000 originate from licensed providers.
“A ban on online advertising would affect only the legal offer,” he warned. “The only consequence of this ban may be that players are lured away from the legal market even more than they are now. Online, they would then encounter only illegal providers. That does not seem to me to be the intended goal of the new cabinet.”
He noted that illegal operators are unlikely to comply with Dutch regulations, particularly while major technology platforms continue to host their advertisements. While the European Union’s Digital Services Act could strengthen accountability for tech companies, Groothuizen described this as a longer-term solution.
Highlighting the scale of the problem, he said the global illegal gambling market is larger than the combined economies of Germany and the Netherlands, calling it one of the regulator’s highest priorities.
“The legal market is not a risk-free environment and gambling addiction and other harm can also arise there. But on the legal market, we at least have guardrails, and it is much more difficult for players to lose excessive amounts of money in a short time,” he said.
The KSA has imposed fines on operators in recent years for failing to meet duty of care obligations, and Groothuizen noted that compliance levels have improved significantly.
He also questioned a second proposal to explore limiting the number of online gambling licences. The Netherlands currently has around 30 legal online providers and several hundred licensed gambling halls, while high-risk casino products are restricted to the state-owned monopoly operator Holland Casino.
“Limiting the number of licence holders on a market where parties meet all conditions and offer products within the rules seems to me a legally difficult path, with questionable benefit,” he said. “There is no reason to assume that there would be less advertising in a market with five providers than when there are 25, or that the number of players will decrease.”
Groothuizen argued that if certain gambling products are considered socially undesirable, they should be banned outright rather than restricted through licence caps.
While endorsing the cabinet’s broader goals of stronger protections and tougher enforcement, the regulator cautioned that overly restrictive measures on the legal market could inadvertently strengthen illegal operators, undermining the very safeguards the government aims to reinforce.
