Dutch Cabinet Plans Full Ad and Bonus Ban as Online Gambling Harm Rises
The Dutch cabinet plans to ban all online gambling advertising and player bonuses in the Netherlands, as part of a legislative package announced by Justice and Security State Secretary Claudia van Bruggen on 12 June 2026. The proposals also include a cross-operator deposit cap with an affordability test and stronger tools to block illegal operators.
Van Bruggen tied the measures directly to rising addiction rates since the Remote Gambling Act (KOA) opened the market in October 2021. “I find it particularly concerning that more and more people, and especially young people, have started gambling online and are getting into trouble as a result,” she said. “It is high time to reverse this trend.”
Four Years of Tightening
The Netherlands launched its licensed online market with 10 operators in October 2021. By 2024, that number had grown to more than 30. The ad restrictions that followed came in stages: a ban on role models in gambling ads in 2022, a ban on untargeted advertising across TV, radio, print, public spaces and online on 1 July 2023, and a full sports sponsorship ban on 1 July 2025.
The cabinet said those measures did not go far enough. Too many people, particularly those who did not look for gambling content, still saw online gambling ads. The proposed bill would end all online gambling advertising and ban bonuses such as free bets offered at account creation.
Deposit Controls Go Cross-Operator
The proposed deposit cap would apply across all licensed operators rather than at individual operator level. Players who want to raise their limit must first pass an affordability test. The test will check whether a player is under guardianship or financial administration, has payment arrears, and has sufficient financial capacity to support a higher limit.
The proposal builds on deposit rules introduced under Franc Weerwind. Data from Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Dutch gambling regulator, showed those earlier limits reduced the share of players that exceeded monthly deposit thresholds from 9.7% to 2.2%. Average monthly player losses fell from €116 to €80, a drop of 31%.
Cruks and the Illegal Market
The cabinet also plans changes to Cruks, the national self-exclusion register. Players would be able to register for an indefinite period without automatic removal. Third parties such as family members or financial administrators would also find it easier to register someone else.
The illegal market remains the most urgent structural problem for licensed operators. The KSA estimated that the legal market’s share of gross gaming revenue fell to around 49% in early 2025. Trade bodies put illegal activity at around 25% of total Dutch gambling. The cabinet said tens of thousands of illegal sites are active in the Netherlands, and none offer player protection or referrals to support services.
The government and KSA are developing additional enforcement tools. These would cover website blocks and legal standards for payment providers and hosting companies that facilitate illegal operators. The cabinet also plans a review on whether to cap the total number of online gambling licence holders.
💡TGJ Take
The Dutch cabinet puts more pressure on the licensed market at the same time as it targets the illegal one, and the order of execution matters. Ad and bonus bans remove the main tools licensed operators use to hold players who would otherwise go elsewhere. If payment blocks against illegal sites do not produce results fast, the legal market will lose more GGR share before enforcement catches up. For affiliates, bonus-led acquisition in the Netherlands is effectively over once this bill passes. Operators should push KSA on illegal site enforcement timelines now, not after the legislation clears parliament.
