The Dutch regulated gambling market captured approximately 59% of the total gross gaming revenue (BSR) in 2025, a rise from 54% the year prior, according to the Kansspelautoriteit’s (Ksa) annual report for 2025 along with its semi-annual report for the first half of 2026 published on Thursday.
The momentum in the Netherlands' regulated online gambling market was evident in the first half of 2026, with BSR increasing by around 11% compared to the previous six months. The Ksa’s eleventh monitoring report estimated licensed operators generated about €670 million ($750 million) in BSR, averaging around €110 million monthly.
Casino games played against the house contributed to about 73% of the total revenue, totaling €492 million, while sports betting accounted for approximately 24% or €163 million, an increase from around 20% in the latter half of 2025. The Ksa indicated that the growth in sports betting and overall revenue could be associated with the men’s FIFA World Cup. Fluctuations in sports wagering activity from month to month were more pronounced than in casino gaming, and a notable rise in newly opened accounts was recorded in June.
Throughout the first half of 2026, 563,000 accounts were opened, in contrast to 529,000 in the previous half-year.
Estimating illegal gambling remains a challenge for the Ksa, which combined GfK panel data on participation with a Google Ads search-volume method to assess revenue from unlicensed sites. For the first half of 2026, the Ksa estimates that approximately 20,000 individuals engaged exclusively with unlicensed operators each month, while another 10,000 utilized both licensed and unlicensed platforms. The share of players using legal providers is estimated between 94% and 97%. The small number of users on illegal sites coupled with their revenue share indicates they likely face greater losses on average than those betting with licensed operators. The Ksa highlighted that these estimates are tentative and the measuring methods are continuously being refined.
Despite an increase in accounts, the number of unique players remained steady. Licensed operators reported an average of 1.48 million active accounts per month, up from 1.38 million observed in the latter half of 2025. However, independent data from GfK indicated that the actual number of individuals gambling with licensed providers did not show similar growth. The Ksa estimated that around 820,000 individuals gambled with licensed operators at least once during the first half of 2026, with an average monthly engagement of about 490,000.
This discrepancy between the rising account totals and stable player numbers suggests a trend of individuals using multiple accounts more frequently, which the Ksa attributed to regulatory changes, particularly the net deposit limits initiated in October 2024.
In terms of player losses, average monthly losses remained largely consistent, with licensed operators reporting an average of €75 lost per account during the first half of 2026. For accounts among individuals aged 18 to 23, the average loss was registered at €34. Another estimate by the Ksa, which factored in users with multiple accounts and intermittent gambling, indicated average losses reached €137 per person per month, an increase from €121 in the second half of 2025.
Young adults are a significant focus of concern; individuals aged 18-23 represent approximately 22% of legal gambling accounts while comprising about 9.2% of the adult population. Earlier in 2026, the Ksa disclosed that among 15,761 newly funded gambling accounts registered from May 1 to 7, those aged 18-24 constituted 33% of new registrations, with 41% of these accounts opened by newly turned 18-year-olds. Remarkably, a surge in registrations was noted around their 18th birthdays: 11% of accounts opened by 18-year-olds were registered on their actual birthday, while 38% were created within the following month.
Demand for support services has continued to climb, with 3,108 individuals receiving specialized treatment for gambling issues in 2025, marking a 14% rise from 2024. The national self-exclusion register, Cruks, added an average of 2,076 new registrations monthly, totaling around 120,200 by July 31, 2026. The report also indicated a significant increase in involuntary registrations following notifications from operators.
On the advertising front, online advertisements by licensed operators saw a substantial drop, decreasing by about 33%, from around 75,000 placements monthly in the latter half of 2025 to about 50,000 in the first half of 2026. The Netherlands has continued to enforce stricter regulations on gambling ads throughout the year. In June, the government proposed a near-total ban on online gambling advertisements and drew analogies between gambling and sex work.
Additionally, the VNLOK association initiated legal action against Meta, alleging the technology giant permitted widespread illegal gambling advertisements to circulate among consumers in the Netherlands, claiming that over 90% of gambling ads on Facebook originated from unlicensed operators.
