KSA scan showcases changed make-up of Dutch gambling 

Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) the Gambling Authority of the Netherlands has published its ‘2022 Market Scan’ tracking the performance and regulated activities of the Dutch gambling market. 

The report highlights KSA’s primary observation that the “opening of the online gambling market has had an impact on the land-based market, evident from current trends and data presented by the  Gambling Market Scan of 2022”.

The regulator underlined that the 2022 scan offers the first opportunity for Dutch authorities to interpret a set of full-year results accounting for the KPIs of the KOA online gambling marketplace, which officially launched in 1 October 2021. 

Applying gross gaming results of BSR, deposit minus prizes paid out – KSA detailed that in 2022 the Netherlands’ licensed gaming market recorded a GGR of €3.4bn, reflecting an 85% increase on the €2bn GGR achieved in 2021.

The 2022 GGR surge was attributed to the reopening of both online and land-based venues post-COVID restriction following the closure of land-based gambling venues until 25 January 2022 and restrictions up to 25 February 2022.

 The scan highlighted the significantly-changed distribution of the Dutch market as online gambling constituted 31% of the total BSR, against land-based properties’ 69%. 

A breakdown of Dutch gambling’s make-up by vertical saw online casino games generate 23% of market share with a total GGR of €1.9bn (56% of the licensed market share).

Following the legalization of the online market, the BSR for casino games, encompassing both online and land-based, rose from €1.5bn in 2019 to €1.9bn in 2022, yet the land-based sector experienced a 30% decline since 2019, underscoring the growing preference for online platforms.

In its breakdown of verticals, KSA highlighted: “Online casino games accounted for 23% of the market share. Total GGR for casino games was €1.9bn in 2022, making up 56% of the licensed market share.”

Though significantly smaller than casino, sports betting was branded a competitive marketplace generating a 260% BSR increase to €319m, of which 83% was accumulated by online bookmakers.  

The scan reported that overall the “sports betting sector has grown from 4% in 2021 to almost 10% in 2022 (8% of which is online)”. 

An overview of consumer trends saw the average Dutch adult spend a reported €258 on gambling in 2022, an increase from €158 in 2021 and slightly higher than the pre-pandemic average of €221 in 2019.

For 2023, KSA underlined significant changes to the Dutch gambling market as operators are prohibited from advertising on ‘publicly visible spaces’ be it on TV, radio, print media or outdoor advertising – an order imposed as of 1 July 2023. 

KSA will conduct stringent checks of advertising/marketing campaigns to ensure that operators target “95% of their audience above 24 years or older”.