The licensed Dutch gambling market contracted during the 2025 financial year, driven primarily by a downturn in the online gaming and betting sectors. This trend is highlighted in the latest annual market scan published by the Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa), the Dutch Gaming Authority.
Simultaneously, the regulator released its semi-annual monitoring report covering the first half of 2026, which reveals an ongoing rise in registered online gambling accounts alongside shifting player dynamics.
According to the Ksa annual status report, total gross gaming revenue (BSR), calculated as stakes minus prizes paid out—across both online and offline channels decreased from 4.5 billion euros in 2024 to 4.1 billion euros in 2025. The contraction was heavily concentrated online, where BSR plummeted by 18.2% for online casino offerings and by 30.2% for online sports betting.
Regulators attribute these reductions to enhanced participant protection rules introduced toward the end of 2024, such as mandatory net deposit limits. Furthermore, comparison against 2024 was skewed by the Men’s European Football Championship, which had previously inflated sports betting activity.
Within the land-based sector, slot machine BSR in gaming halls and hospitality venues experienced a mild 4.7% decline. Conversely, Holland Casino reported a 2.8% increase in BSR, driven largely by its land-based slot machine operations rather than traditional table games. Meanwhile, revenues across various national lotteries saw a slight 1.8% dip.
Monitoring report reveals rising account numbers
Published alongside the market scan, the Ksa monitoring report for the first half of 2026 provides detailed insight into player metrics, account growth, and channelization rates. Notably, the total number of active online gambling accounts surged to 1.48 million, up from 1.38 million recorded six months earlier.
This growth in accounts contrasts with a relatively stable number of occasional gamblers, which the Ksa estimates at approximately 490,000 per month, with roughly 820,000 individuals gambling online at some point during the first half of 2026. Regulators suggest the proliferation of new accounts may be linked to the Men’s World Cup commencing in June, or alternatively, players creating multiple accounts across operators to circumvent individual deposit limits.
Channelization, the proportion of participants engaging with legal operators, remained robust, with approximately 94% of occasional gamblers utilizing licensed platforms exclusively. Channelization measured by gross gaming revenue increased slightly from 54% to 59% in the first half of 2026, indicating that unlicensed participants tend to incur significantly higher average losses.
