Dutch lawmakers remain sharply divided over the future of regulated online gambling, although parties across the political spectrum have found common ground on the need for tougher action against illegal operators.
The dispute emerged during a three-hour parliamentary committee debate on gambling held on 3 September, where nine MPs questioned State Secretary for Justice and Security Claudia van Bruggen over player protection, advertising, enforcement and proposed reforms to the Remote Gambling Act.
While some lawmakers demanded substantially tighter restrictions or even an end to legal online gambling, others warned that excessive regulation could drive consumers towards offshore operators where Dutch safeguards do not apply.
Government prepares stronger powers against illegal websites
ChristenUnie MP Mirjam Bikker pushed for faster blocking of unlicensed gambling websites, tighter advertising rules and an increase in the minimum age for higher-risk gambling from 18 to 21.
Van Bruggen acknowledged shortcomings in the current enforcement framework. Dutch authorities can intervene more readily against sites using .nl domains, but forcing internet providers to block foreign domains requires additional legislation.
The government is therefore working on legislation that would provide a legal basis for DNS blocking. The proposal is currently expected to enter consultation in early 2027.
The Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has already made illegal gambling one of its main enforcement priorities for 2026. Its strategy increasingly targets the wider infrastructure supporting offshore operators, including payment providers, hosting companies, affiliates, social-media platforms and internet providers.
The regulator has also intensified its campaign against illegal advertising. In April alone, the KSA reported more than 4,600 suspected illegal gambling advertisements on Facebook and Instagram to Meta.
Age increase remains on hold
Despite pressure from ChristenUnie, CDA, SGP and other MPs, Van Bruggen declined to immediately raise the gambling age to 21.
She argued that the government needs stronger evidence that such a restriction would reduce gambling harm rather than encourage 18-to-20-year-olds to move to unlicensed sites. The issue will continue to be monitored and included in future gambling policy progress reports.
CDA MP Tijs van den Brink also called for fewer online gambling licences and supported stricter advertising controls. The question is particularly relevant as the first five-year licences issued following the opening of the regulated online market in 2021 begin reaching the end of their original terms in October 2026.
Payments and intermediaries become enforcement targets
PRO MP Mohammed Mohandis focused on whether the government’s policies were producing measurable results and called for clearer indicators showing whether action against the black market is working.
He also urged authorities to target banks, payment companies and other intermediaries used by offshore gambling businesses.
Van Bruggen agreed that enforcement cannot focus only on individual casino websites. She said clearer legal standards are needed to determine when companies are considered to be facilitating illegal gambling.
That approach closely matches the KSA’s current enforcement strategy, which aims to disrupt the financial and technological networks that allow unlicensed gambling businesses to reach Dutch consumers.
Mohandis also raised the possible privatisation of Nederlandse Loterij and its potential consequences for sport, culture and charitable funding. The government is continuing to examine the issue but intends to wait for relevant research from the Ministry of Justice’s Research and Data Centre before taking further decisions.
SGP calls for reversal of online gambling legalisation
The strongest challenge to the existing system came from SGP MP Diederik van Dijk, who argued that legalising online gambling had created problems that further regulation would not solve.
He called for the Remote Gambling Act to be reversed, supported a complete gambling advertising ban covering lotteries and land-based operators, and questioned why the state remains directly involved in gambling through Holland Casino and Nederlandse Loterij.
Van Bruggen rejected a return to prohibition.
She said roughly 500,000 people in the Netherlands gamble online each month and argued that removing regulated alternatives would not eliminate demand. Instead, the government intends to maintain a controlled legal market while making illegal operators harder to access.
D66 and VVD warn against pushing players offshore
D66 MP Joost Sneller accepted that the opening of the online market had contributed to gambling-related harm and supported tighter protections, but warned against placing virtually all restrictions on licensed businesses.
He argued that stricter limits, advertising rules and duty-of-care obligations can unintentionally push players towards sites where there is no Dutch supervision, Cruks self-exclusion system or equivalent player protection.
VVD MP Bart Bikkers made a similar argument, supporting stronger enforcement against illegal sites while insisting that new measures should be assessed partly on whether they cause players to migrate offshore.
Despite their wider disagreements, the debate showed considerable political support for faster website blocking, stronger action against illegal payments and advertising, better supervision and more effective player protection.
The major unresolved question is how far those measures should go without weakening the regulated market that Dutch authorities rely on to keep players within supervised gambling channels.