Dutch Licensed Gambling Market Contracts in 2025 on Sharp Online Revenue Declines

The licensed Dutch gambling market contracted in 2025, with total gross gaming revenue (GSR) falling from 4.5bn to 4.1bn. Online casino offerings dropped 18.2 per cent while online betting fell 30.2 per cent, according to the Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa). The authority tied the reductions partly to participant-protection steps introduced at the end of 2024, including the net deposit limit, and the absence of the prior year's Men's European Football Championship boost to sports betting.

Land-based slot machines in gambling halls and hospitality venues recorded a 4.7 per cent BSR decline, although Holland Casino posted a 2.8 per cent overall increase driven by its slots. Lottery BSR eased 1.8 per cent.

2026 Monitoring Report Shows Account Growth

The Ksa's simultaneous monitoring report for the first half of 2026 recorded online gambling accounts rising to 1.48 million from 1.38 million. Some 820,000 people gambled online during the period against a steady monthly occasional-gambler estimate of approximately 490,000. Channelisation held near 94 per cent of occasional gamblers using legal providers, while BSR-based channelisation edged up from 54 per cent to 59 per cent. The gap implies higher average losses among those using illegal channels.

Treatment admissions for gambling addiction rose over 14 per cent in 2025. Ipsos data for 2026 showed 65 per cent of online gamblers participating non-problematically, with the high-risk cohort unchanged, low-risk numbers up and moderate-risk numbers down. As reported by G3 Newswire, the combined releases illustrate a market absorbing tighter rules while account volumes expand.

The Protection-Revenue Tension

The Ksa figures present a clear trade-off: deposit limits and related measures coincide with lower GSR yet appear to support legal channelisation and stable non-problematic participation rates. The rise in accounts without matching growth in unique monthly gamblers flags potential circumvention via multiple registrations. Regulators and operators alike will track whether further calibration of these tools can contain treatment demand without compressing the licensed market beyond current levels.