Dutch Government will change the Remote Gambling Act

The Dutch State Secretary of Justice is going to fundamentally change the rules for online gambling in the Remote Gaming Act. A coherent package of measures is needed to better protect consumers in the Netherlands and curb illegal offerings.

The Dutch are reviewing the Remote Gambling Act

Based on the vision and evaluation published on February 14, 2025, the intention is to make a single proposal to amend the Online Gambling Act (Wok) after the legislative evaluation. Key observations of about the current gambling legislation for online gambling: the protection of people from the risks of online gambling has been compromised. The number of problem players has increased since the introduction of the Online Gambling Act (WOK). The player’s own responsibility does not work as a starting point. The protection of players must therefore improve, not only at but also with respect to physical gaming machines, scratch cards, lotteries and small games of chance such as bingo. Below is an overview of the main measures proposed to change the law for remote gambling.

Tightening the duty of care of providers and introducing overall playing limits

Through the Regulation on Playing Limits and Conscious Gaming Behavior and the Policy Rules on Responsible Gaming 2024, the duty of care has already been fleshed out and concretized with guidelines for when providers must intervene and inform.26 I will further concretize and tighten the duty of care (Measure 5). I will do this partly on the basis of the effects of the earlier tightening. I expect that the change is partly possible in lower regulations, but it must be investigated whether important frameworks are needed at the level of law or order in council. The revamped duty-of-care rules will come about on the basis of research and advice from independent experts. Here I also include the motion of Van Nispen c.s. to see what is needed to take more effective and firm action against gambling companies that fail in their duty of care and addiction prevention policy. The evaluation of the law recommends a cross-provider functionality regarding gaming behavior. Partly in response to the Bikker et al. motion, I have investigated how overarching playing limits can be made possible. Based on this research, I opt for the introduction of a coordinating deposit limit with a financial capacity test (Measure 6).
This will include a central functionality where players’ playing limits are recorded and tracked. A carrying capacity test will then be built in when players wish to play above a limit. The contours of umbrella playing limits have been worked out and are outlined in more detail in the annex to this letter. Further overarching measures are only to be considered at the point when the foregoing are found to be insufficiently effective.

Further curtailment of online gaming advertising

I will institute a “no, unless” ban on advertising for remote games of chance. This will allow better control of what advertising is allowed and make supervision and enforcement easier for the Ksa (Measure 7).  Further research into the operation of the current policy is needed for the implementation of “unless”. It is important to see to what extent also targeted advertising should still be allowed, for example through personal messages. In light of the idea that only necessary advertising will be allowed and to avoid displacement effects to other marketing, bonuses and promotional games of chance will also be looked at. Finally, I want to make a distinction in the warning text that applies to high-risk and low-risk games of chance (lotteries). Here it is still important to first gain insight into the effects of a warning text.

Extension of the powers of the Dutch Gambling Authority KSA to tackle illegal providers

In terms of enforcement, the powers of the Ksa will be expanded to be able to take better action against illegal providers. These include the ability to shut down or block websites and to hold third parties, such as providers or banks, accountable for offering their services to illegal providers (Measure 8).
It is also being considered how to eliminate the supervisory gap that the Ksa does not currently supervise directly within the gaming environment. It is not yet clear whether it is possible to set up false identities for this purpose. There is also the question to what extent an amendment to the Wok is sufficient to regulate this power (Measure 9).
For better enforcement within the licensed supply, a power is created to suspend licenses independently, without the need for an intention to revoke the license (Measure 10).

Summary of proposed amendments rules for online gambling on the Dutch market

1. a change in the general principles of the law in which the protection of the citizen comes first, so that parties who facilitate illegal gambling offerings can also be directly addressed;
2. steering on the degree of risk of specific gaming products, with even stricter restrictions being imposed on the most risky games of chance, such as raising the minimum age to 21 years;
3. tightening the duty of care of providers and introducing overarching gaming limits for online games of chance;
4. adjusting advertising rules and limiting advertising to what is strictly necessary, with the principle of “prohibited unless”;
5. expansion of enforcement and supervisory instruments such as the ability to blacklist illegal websites and instruments that allow the Ksa to better supervise within the gaming environment;
6. improving the operation of the Central Register of Exclusion from Gaming (CRUKS) and the exchange and use of data for research purposes.

Timeline for amendments to the Dutch Online Gaming Act

In the coming period, the necessary preparations will be made by the Dutch Ministry to amend the laws and regulations surrounding games of chance. It is expected that the formulation of a bill can begin by the end of 2025. In the meantime, it will be examined whether certain measures can take place earlier, such as further tightening of the duty of care and advertising restrictions. In addition, the State Secretary is committed to putting the approach to illegal supply on the agenda at the European level.