The licensed gambling market in the Netherlands got smaller in 2025, with the biggest falls coming online, according to new figures from the Dutch regulator, the Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa).
The Ksa’s annual market scan puts gross gaming result (GGR, stakes minus prizes paid out) across the whole licensed market, online and land-based, at €4.1bn for 2025. That is down from €4.5bn in 2024.
Online drove the decline
- Online casino: GGR fell 18.2%.
- Online sports betting: GGR fell 30.2%.
- Gaming arcades and hospitality machines: GGR fell 4.7%.
- Holland Casino: GGR rose 2.8%, driven by its slot machines rather than table games.
- Lotteries: GGR fell 1.8%.
The regulator says the online declines are at least partly down to the player-protection measures that came into force at the end of 2024, including the net deposit limit. Betting was also compared with a strong 2024, when the men’s European Championship boosted sports wagering.
More accounts, not more players
Alongside the market scan, the Ksa published its six-monthly monitoring report on the online market for the first half of 2026. It shows the number of online gambling accounts rising to 1.48m, from 1.38m six months earlier.
The Ksa says that rise stands out because the number of people gambling has not grown significantly. It estimates about 490,000 people gamble online in a typical month, and around 820,000 did so at least once in the first half of 2026. The regulator suggests the men’s World Cup, which started in June, may have played a part, but says the growth may also mean players are opening several accounts to get around per-account deposit limits.
Channelisation edges up
About 94% of people who gamble do so only with licensed operators, a level the Ksa says appears to have stabilised. Measured by GGR, channelisation is estimated to have risen from 54% in the second half of 2025 to 59% in the first half of 2026. The gap between the two measures suggests people who gamble with illegal operators lose considerably more on average than those who play with licensed sites.
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The report also includes treatment data for 2025 showing 14% more people were treated for gambling addiction than in 2024. Survey data from Ipsos estimates that 65% of people who gamble online do so without problems, the same as in 2025.
The full reports and underlying data are available on the Ksa website. Earlier this week the regulator also published guidance for journalists on reporting gambling harm.
