SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Netherlands Gambling Authority, has authorised a request by LiveScore Malta and Tombola International to revoke their Dutch ‘KOA’ online gambling licences.
The request was authorised on Monday, 23 December, as the KSA terminated the Dutch online gambling licences for the brands LiveScore Bet and Tombola.nl.
Markets were informed: “This means that from now on, LiveScore and Tombola no longer have a licence to offer online games of chance on the Dutch market.”
Prior to surrendering its licence, LiveScore Bet had informed its customers and media partners in November of its plans to leave the Dutch market by the end of 2024.
As detailed by the management of LiveScore Group, the Netherlands was deemed ‘commercially non-viable’ due to the new Conservative government’s decision to increase taxes on gambling income from 30.5% to 37.8% by 2026.
A European subsidiary of Flutter Entertainment Plc, Tombola had limited its Dutch presence and activities since November 2024, as management assessed changing market conditions due to forthcoming tax rises.
Both LiveScore and Tombola were among the first ten operators to be granted a Remote Gambling Act (KOA) licence by the KSA on 1 October 2021, to participate in the Netherlands’ regulated online gambling marketplace.
Since its launch, the KOA market has undergone consecutive revisions, with the Ministry of Justice imposing new restrictions on advertising and stringent compliance measures on high-risk games, customer deposit limits, one-on-one ID verifications, and duty of care checks.
In September, the Netherlands’ new Conservative coalition government settled on the terms of Budget 2025, in which the parties agreed to impose a ‘two-tranche’ hike on gambling taxes to 34.2% in 2025 and 37.8% in 2026.
The government has been advised against imposing such drastic changes in taxes, as licensed operators will transition to a period of upcoming changes, including monthly loss limit checks of €350 and €150 for customers aged under 25.
The next phase of KOA market reforms will be led by the new Legal Protections Minister, Teun Struycken, who will evaluate all proposals to modify and overhaul the KOA Act.
The ongoing tightening of KOA compliance measures has led several international operators to place their Dutch market activities under strategic review, citing unsatisfactory growth since the market’s launch on 1 October 2021.
