An investigation into the ease of access to gambling for minors in the Netherlands has led to increased engagement between licensed operators and the regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA).
The authority was prompted to launch an investigation in 2025 after receiving a number of reports of minors being able to create an account with legal online gambling providers.
A limited number of findings, which the KSA said is not representative of the general state of the Dutch market, showcased that minors were bypassing the rigorous ID checks during the registration process by using someone else’s bank account, for example that of their parents or a friend who is of legal age.
Approaching online gambling providers to discuss the matter, the KSA received feedback that there was no immediate solution to address it.
However, the regulator has now announced that such a solution “is now available” and it will be highlighted during an upcoming technical session with the licensed sector, the date of which hasn’t been announced yet.
But overall, no serious violations were registered, with the KSA constituting that it is “virtually impossible” for minors to gamble with licensed operators, and that this primarily occurs with black market gambling platforms.
Michel Groothuizen, Chairman of the KSA, commented: “The KSA is very concerned about minors gambling. Fortunately, it turns out that this hardly happens with license holders, but we do have clear signs that it happens anyway.”
“So that will be on the illegal market. Illegal providers often have no or low standards for age verification and advertising aimed at precisely this young target group, for example via TikTok.
“That is extremely harmful, and the KSA is therefore committed to combating illegal supply. We are also putting a stronger focus on education towards minors to make them aware of the risks of gambling.”
Legal action against offshore operators has been ramping up recently in the Netherlands. Novatech and Fortaprime SRL were the two latest hit with penalties by the KSA, with a €24.9m and a €1.8m fine respectively.
It seems that the licensed market has had enough with Novatech in particular, with Nederlandse Loterij – the biggest legal gambling operator in the domestic market – following up with its own pursuit of legal justice against its offshore competitor, at a time when channelisation rates are being constantly threatened by the rising prominence of illegal gambling.
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