Dutch Licensed Gambling GGR Contracts to €4.1 Billion in 2025 as Online Revenue Drops Sharply
The Netherlands licensed gambling market shrank to €4.1bn GGR in 2025, with online revenue down 21% to €1.2bn due to new duty of care rules, higher tax, and no major sports event. Land-based held steady and H1 2026 online rose 11%. Channelisation gap shows illegal operators capture heavier players.
SCCG Take — Tighter protections compressed licensed revenue while the revenue-participation disparity confirms illegal channels retain high-value activity. Regulators face a clear trade-off between harm reduction and sustainable licensed growth.
The licensed gambling market in the Netherlands contracted to €4.1 billion in gross gaming revenue for 2025, down from an inflation-adjusted €4.5 billion in 2024. Online casino and online betting drove most of the decline. The Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) published the annual market scan on Thursday 29 October, together with its monitoring report for the first half of 2026.
The figures show the effects of stricter duty of care requirements that took effect on 1 October 2024, including a net deposit limit, combined with a gambling tax increase and the absence of a major tournament boost.
Online Revenue Falls 21 Percent to €1.20 Billion
Total online GGR reached €1.20 billion in 2025 against €1.52 billion the year before. Online casino revenue declined 18.2 percent to €947 million. Online sports betting fell 30.2 percent to €254 million from €364 million.
The KSA links the reduction to the new duty of care rules, the tax rate rising from 30.5 percent to 34.2 percent, and a softer 2025 sports calendar after the 2024 men’s European Championship. Tax receipts totalled €1.05 billion, declining less steeply than revenue because of the higher rate.
Land-Based Stability, Early 2026 Uptick and Illegal Market Gap
Land-based performance held firmer. Holland Casino lifted GGR by 2.8 percent to €683 million, led by slot machines rather than tables. Land-based betting rose 8.5 percent while arcade machines and lottery revenue fell. The arcade estate edged down from 197 venues to 194.
The first-half 2026 monitoring report records online GGR of €670 million, up around 11 percent from the second half of 2025. Active accounts climbed to 1.48 million from 1.38 million, yet the KSA estimates unique monthly players stayed near 490,000. The authority notes some players may hold multiple accounts to avoid per-account deposit limits.
Channelisation measured by participants reached roughly 94 percent, while the revenue measure improved to 59 percent from 54 percent. The KSA states the gap implies higher average losses among those using illegal sites. Enforcement remains a focus: the authority imposed a record €37 million fine on EOD Code for twelve illegal casinos. Treatment data showed over 14 percent more people receiving care for gambling addiction in 2025 than in 2024.
According to reporting by Casino Beats, these outcomes illustrate the immediate revenue pressure from tighter rules even as channelisation by revenue slowly improves. The persistent illegal segment and rising treatment numbers mark the central limitation regulators must address.
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