A Dutch councillor has renewed calls to increase the legal age for online gambling in the Netherlands from 18 to 24, arguing that growing debt problems among young adults are being fuelled by gambling, easy credit services and aggressive online advertising.
Meryam Sümer of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) raised the issue after new figures from the city of Enschede showed a sharp rise in financial hardship among younger residents. According to municipal data, around one in five young people in the city currently has debt problems.
In 2025 alone, Enschede registered more than 12,000 reports linked to problematic debt, including nearly 1,000 cases involving risks such as eviction or utility disconnection. Local authorities reportedly worked directly with about 4,000 residents facing financial difficulties, a rate significantly above the Dutch national average.
Sümer, who also works in welfare services, said many young people are being overwhelmed by constant exposure to instalment payment schemes, subscriptions and gambling promotions appearing across social media and mobile gaming platforms.
She argued that people in this age group often lack the financial awareness needed to manage such offers responsibly, warning that the combination is creating serious social and economic consequences.
The councillor also criticised gambling advertising practices in the Netherlands. Although the country already bans gambling adverts aimed at people under 24 and introduced restrictions on public gambling advertising in 2022, recent research suggested some campaigns on Meta platforms were still reaching users aged 18 to 23.
Sümer said the main objective should be reducing exposure and temptation for younger consumers. While she acknowledged that a total ban on online gambling products would likely be unrealistic in the near future, she believes stricter safeguards are necessary.
The debate over increasing the gambling age is not new in the Netherlands. In 2025, former legal protection state secretary Teun Struycken proposed raising the minimum age for online slot games to 21, alongside tougher deposit limit rules.
However, the idea has faced resistance from the Dutch gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA). The regulator previously warned that stricter age limits could unintentionally drive younger players toward illegal gambling websites, where consumer protections are absent and enforcement remains difficult.
The KSA has repeatedly argued that unlicensed operators remain easily accessible online and that excluding younger adults from the regulated market could strengthen black-market activity instead.