KSA Updates Affordability Guidance After Operator Review
The Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has updated its affordability check guidance after a follow-up review of 20 online licence holders in the Netherlands. The regulator published the changes on 2 July 2026 and clarified that operators must assess a player’s structural income, not liquid assets such as savings.
Since October 2024, Dutch online operators must run an affordability check when players seek to deposit more than €300 net for young adults aged 18 to 24, or more than €700 net for players aged 24 and above. The KSA said the test aims to prevent player losses beyond what each person can afford.
February 2025 marked the first KSA publication of good and bad practices for the check. In the follow-up review, the regulator sampled 20 licence holders and assessed specific affordability cases.
The results showed progress at many operators, but also unresolved improvement points and violations. Across several licence holders, the KSA held 10 improvement meetings, issued three warnings, and applied one binding instruction.
The central clarification concerns the evidence base. Liquid assets such as savings cannot form part of the affordability check. Operators must base the assessment on a player’s structural income.
The KSA said its earlier explanation caused practical uncertainty for licence holders. The updated good and bad practices aim to give operators clearer direction on the correct execution of the check.
For compliance teams, the change narrows the room for judgement when a player crosses a deposit threshold. A bank balance or savings total does not prove affordability. Operators need a documented process that identifies income, tests it against the player’s deposit level, and records the decision.
Supervision will not stop with the updated guidance. The KSA said the affordability check remains an important priority because it helps protect vulnerable players and prevents losses beyond a player’s means. New sample checks among licence holders will follow under the revised good and bad practices.
💡TGJ Take
The update turns the affordability check from a policy requirement into an active enforcement risk. The KSA has moved past guidance, with three warnings and one binding instruction after its review. Licensed Dutch online operators should audit how teams collect income evidence, escalate threshold cases, and record decisions before the next sample round. CRM, risk, and compliance suppliers should remove any workflow logic that treats savings as affordability evidence.
