The Dutch online gambling market has stabilised with a consistent monthly gross gaming yield (GGR) of approximately €100 million ($118 million), according to Dutch gambling regulator (KSA).
The legal Dutch online gambling market maintained steady revenue figures with €602 million ($709 million) in GGY between July and December 2025.
Key segments contributing to the market composition included online slots, which dominated with 78% of legal GGY, while sports betting accounted for 20%.
Peer-to-peer casino games such as poker and bingo represented 1.8% with horse race betting comprising a marginal 0.2%.
Market concentration eased, with the combined market share of the three largest licensed operators dropping to between 30% and 40% in December 2025.
This marked a decrease from 40%-50% in mid-2025 and 45%-55% at the end of 2024. This signalled increased competition within the licensed sector, possibly from players shifting to the black market.
By the end of 2025, 31 licence holders were recorded under the KSA licensing regime. Twenty-seven of these were actively operating their licences.
In 2024 notable operators LiveScore Group and Flutter’s Tombola exited the Dutch market due to the challenging regulatory landscape.
Player accounts and activity trends
Licensed operators reported an average of 1.38 million active accounts monthly, an increase from 1.29 million in the previous period.
Using independent GfK panel data, the KSA estimated that about 810,000 distinct players engaged with licensed operators over the six-month period.
On a monthly basis, approximately 500,000 players were active. This was a slight decline from circa 540,000 in the first half of 2025.
Young adults gambling patterns
Young adults aged 18 to 23 accounted for €61 million of legal GGY in the second half of 2025, representing 10.2% of the total market share.
This was a minor drop from 11% in the previous six months but the KSA said the figure still exceeded the demographic’s representation within the adult population (9.3%).
Young adults also exhibited over-representation in account ownership, holding 22% of all active accounts (around 305,000). Their average monthly loss per account stood at €34 (median €33), roughly half that of the overall account average (€73 mean; €47 median).
The KSA recently published the results of its investigation into minors’ access to legal online gambling platforms in the Netherlands. The regulator concluded that it was “virtually impossible” for under-18s to register and gamble with licensed online operators under current verification systems.
Losses and player behaviour analysis
The average loss per active account in the licensed market was €73 monthly, down from €77 in the first half of 2025.
When adjusted for multi-account use and months of inactivity, the average loss per active player was €124, up slightly from €117 earlier in the year.
Loss distribution remains skewed, with a small subset of high-loss accounts inflating averages.
Approximately 36% of accounts lost between €100 and €1,000 monthly, and 0.6% (about 50,000 accounts) lost more than €1,000.
Slot-style games showed greater player engagement and losses relative to other casino games. There were average hourly losses of €18 and a monthly playtime of four hours, double that of other house-banked games.
Illegal market and player channelling
The KSA’s estimates on illegal online gambling revealed a slight improvement in channelling players to licensed operators to 92%.
Based on GfK panel data, the regulator estimated that about 480,000 players exclusively used licensed sites monthly. Approximately 20,000 players used both licensed and unlicensed sites and around 30,000 players participated solely on unlicensed platforms.
Overall, the online gambling population numbered around 520,000 monthly players.
Prevention and problem gambling measures
Concerns over problem gambling persisted. The number of individuals treated for gambling disorders during the six-month period rose by 10% to 2,708 in 2024.
Registrations on the central exclusion register (Cruks) continued to climb, reaching 111,534 by the end of January 2026. Requests for involuntary exclusions saw a notable increase to 442 during the second half of 2025, up from 161 earlier in the year, credited largely to efforts by operators following regulator prompts.
The KSA recently announced funding for five gambling-harm prevention projects. The investment concentrated on four key areas. These included expansion of peer support networks; development of clinical guidance on addiction; and integration of prevention within existing social and health programmes. It also focused on the provision of support for affected workplaces and families.
Advertising and marketing restrictions
Since July 2023, the Netherlands has implemented strict advertising regulations, banning untargeted gambling adverts that may reach minors or vulnerable groups. Offline gambling advertising, including TV and radio, is prohibited, and sponsorship restrictions were phased in over 2024-25. Online advertising remains permitted but must target audiences comprising at least 95% aged 24 or older.
Nielsen monitoring showed a sharp 42% drop in paid online gambling advertisements between the first and second half of 2025, falling from 129,000 to 75,000 monthly ads.
Social media activity by licensed operators on Facebook and Instagram also declined significantly, with almost no presence on X (formerly Twitter) due to the platform’s limitations on minimum age targeting.
Interestingly, 2.1 million non-players visited licensed gambling websites during the second half of 2025, up from 1.8 million previously, indicating broader engagement with gambling-related content beyond active participants.
In January, the Netherlands’ new minority government discussed a full ban on gambling ads, although no new measures have been put in place since.
Kathryn Evans
Kathryn covers bitesize breaking news with a primary focus on EMEA and US legislation. A proud North Walian, fluent Welsh speaker and lifelong Wrexham FC fan – long before Hollywood came calling.
