The coalition agreement of the new government of the Netherlands includes a section titled “Sober Policy: drugs, gambling and sex work”, which contemplates measures to strengthen the duty of care of licensed operators and toughen actions against illegal websites. So far, the regulator is aligned with the executive.
However, the agreement also proposes two measures that generated an immediate critical response from the Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA): a total ban on online gambling advertising and the possible limitation of the number of licenses. Groothuizen responded publicly to both proposals, acknowledging their motivations but questioning their practical effectiveness.
Why the regulator rejects the general advertising ban
Groothuizen acknowledged that the sector’s marketing has been forceful, highly visible and at times aggressive, and that this perception explains the legislator’s frustration. However, he pointed out that advertising by licensed operators has already been reduced on television, sports and other public spaces, and that supervision of the regulated market has tightened over the last year with concrete results.
The problem, he warned, has shifted to another front: social media. On Facebook and Instagram alone, more than 60.000 gambling advertisements targeting Dutch users are published every month. Of that total, fewer than 2.000 come from authorized providers. The vast majority are linked to illegal operators acting outside any regulatory supervision.
In this context, Groothuizen argued that a total ban on advertising would only affect those who comply with the law, leaving untouched the illegal segment that dominates digital advertising targeting the Dutch market.
The illegal gambling market, a problem of global scale
The KSA chairman described the global illegal gambling economy as a phenomenon of enormous proportions, exceeding in size the combined economies of Germany and the Netherlands. Combating this market, he stressed, is his top institutional priority.
The regulator acknowledged that the KSA will continue to pursue illegal advertisers, but admitted that law enforcement cannot guarantee total results. He noted that measures planned under the European Union’s Digital Services Act could eventually increase the responsibility of tech platforms, but described that path as a long-term process that will not solve the problem in the short term.
Withdrawing legal advertising could push players toward sites without controls
Groothuizen’s central argument is that removing the advertising presence of authorized operators does not reduce the demand for gambling, but rather redirects it toward unregulated platforms that operate without Dutch supervision and do not apply mandatory consumer protections.
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Licensed operators are subject to duty of care rules, spending limits and requirements designed to curb harm and slow down rapid financial losses. The KSA has imposed significant fines on those who do not comply with these obligations and, according to Groothuizen, compliance levels have improved since those sanctions were applied.
The association of licensed Dutch online gambling providers also expressed concerns in the same direction, reinforcing the regulator’s position against the executive.
The regulator also questions limiting the number of licenses
Groothuizen was equally skeptical regarding the proposal to restrict the number of license holders. Currently, the Netherlands has around 30 licensed online operators and several hundred physical establishments, with certain high-risk games reserved for Holland Casino under a monopoly structure.
The KSA chairman questioned both the legal logic and the practical convenience of limiting access to new licenses when applicants meet all the requirements established by law. Furthermore, he noted that there is no evidence that having fewer operators reduces advertising levels or player participation.
The regulator reaches out to the new cabinet despite differences
Despite his objections, Groothuizen closed his message with a constructive tone. “Despite these critical comments, I look forward to working with enthusiasm with the new cabinet,” he stated. He stressed that in the main objectives—protecting vulnerable players and combating illegality—there is no contradiction between the government’s agenda and that of the regulator.
The KSA’s stance reflects a frequent tension in regulated gambling markets: political pressure for visible and restrictive measures versus the technical warning that those same measures can produce the opposite effect of what is intended, benefiting the unregulated sector that operates in the shadows.
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