After months of political stand-off, the new minority government in the Netherlands has brought the gambling laws back to the negotiating table. While they have assured that the regulations would be stricter, some of the changes initiated by the previous cabinet are still in the pipeline.
The minority coalition of the Netherlands, ready to form a government, has made public their plan to ban all gambling advertising and study a reduction of the online gambling licenses.
These initiatives come from a 67 page coalition agreement released on January 30, after the general election held in October. The coalition consists of the centrist D66, Christian Democrats, and the right-leaning VVD. A snap election after the fall of Dick Schoofs government brought no single party to majority. The new cabinet is expected to take the oath this month.
The agreement equates gambling with prostitution at the same time, both legal activities that from the crime and human trafficking perspective, are still carry significant risks.
The agreement said:
Online gambling and sex work are legal in the Netherlands, but they are also susceptible to crime and human trafficking. We want to protect vulnerable people in these sectors from profiteers. We are strengthening the duty of care of online gambling providers, cracking down on illegal gambling sites, and introducing a complete advertising ban on online gambling. We are exploring limiting the number of licenses for online gambling sites.
The previous administration had pledged to overhaul the online gambling legislation and enact a new Gambling Act by the end of 2025. However, those intentions were aborted when the coalition fell apart over disagreements on asylum policy.
Teun Struycken, the former State Secretary for Legal Protection and also the one responsible for gambling, stepped down in August along with other ministers after the blockage of sanctions against Israel. Due to his exit, alterations in the gambling sector have been stalled until the announcement of the new coalition agreement.
Michel Groothuizen, the director of the Dutch gambling authority Kansspelautoriteit, had in fact already disagreed with the proposals of increasing the legal gambling age and prohibiting all gambling advertisements.
The gambling industry group VNLOK on the other hand has cautioned that a complete ban on advertising could drive players to unlicensed operators.
VNLOK chairman Bjrn Fuchs said that a full ban would actually weaken the current gambling laws of the Netherlands. He stated that such laws have been carefully designed around an open, regulated market with strict standards for duty of care, advertising, and supervision.
VNLOK referenced the KSA figures disclosing that at the start of 2025 the black market’s profits had already surpassed those of the legal gambling market. The legal market’s gross gaming revenue was at 600 million in the first half of 2025, which is a 16% drop from 697 million in the previous six months. The KSA stated that the drop was partly due to new player protection measures such as deposit limits.
The Dutch government has initiated steps to restrict gambling advertisements. By July 2023, advertising on television, radio, and print was banned, and the rules for online ads were altered to prohibit targeting of anyone under 24. Gambling sponsorships were also terminated in the summer of 2025.
By 2026, 5 years since the iGaming market was regulated and opened, operators will be asked to renew their licenses. The KSA explained that past issues related to compliance would not be a problem for renewal automatically in October. However, the authority added that it would investigate how operators have responded to past enforcement cases.