Netherlands Gambling — Licensing and regulation: Can we get a licence?

## Licence Triggers A remote gambling licence, as awarded by the Netherlands Gambling Authority (Kansspelautoriteit, “NGA”), is required to offer remote gambling services to customers in the Netherlands. All other offers are illegal and at risk of enforcement measures. Remote gambling licences awarded overseas are not recognised in the Netherlands, meaning that any locally unlicensed remote gambling offer available in the Netherlands is illegal (regardless of whether the operator in question is licensed in another jurisdiction). Gambling in the Netherlands is regulated under the Betting and Gambling Act (Wet op de kansspelen, “BGA”) and embodies a prohibited-unless-licensed approach. It is prohibited to: Offer games of chance without the requisite licence (Article 1(1)(a) BGA) Promote and facilitate unlicensed games of chance (Article 1(1)(b) BGA) Knowingly participate in unlicensed games of chance (Article 1(1)(c) BGA) The threshold for determining when a remote gambling offer breaches the prohibition in Article 1(1)(a) BGA is low. Previously, prior to the introduction of the licensing regime, the NGA adhered to its “prioritisation criteria” to determine whether a particular unlicensed offer should be subject to enforcement measures. The prioritisation criteria were essentially points which the NGA used to determine whether the offer was targeted at the Netherlands. However, an offer which was merely available in the Netherlands, without targeting the jurisdiction, would still be in breach of Article 1(1)(a) BGA. Offers which were available in the Netherlands but did not breach the prioritisation criteria were not legal or made legitimate in one way or another. They were merely a lower priority for enforcement. The criteria no longer apply following the introduction of the licensing regime. The grey middle which the criteria upheld, whereby offers which were unlawful were a low enforcement priority, has since evaporated. Operators with an online offer in the Netherlands, albeit even if only a “passive” one, or one defined by a small customer base in the Netherlands, run the very real risk of being at the receiving end of enforcement action. Nowadays it is a case of being licensed or not present on the market. ## Type of licences needed There is only a single remote gambling licence type available which, depending on the application submitted, will cover up to the four permitted categories. These categories are: Casino games in which the players play against the licence holder (e.g., blackjack) Casino games in which the players play against one another (e.g., poker) Bets on events occurring during a sporting contest or on the outcome of a sporting contest Bets on the outcome of horse racing and harness racing All permitted forms of remote gambling will have to be shoehorned into one of these four categories. There are no personal licences. Remote gambling licences are not transferrable, although this does not exclude scope for changes in control of the licence holder. The Remote Gambling Act (Wet kansspelen op afstand, “RGA”) amended the BGA so as to introduce a regulatory framework for regulating and licensing remote gambling. Further requirements are contained within four pieces of secondary legislation: Remote Gambling Decree (Besluit kansspelen op afstand, “RGD”) Remote Gambling Regulation (Regeling kansspelen op afstand, “RGR”) In turn, these have amended existing secondary legislation relating to advertising, namely: Decree recruitment, advertising, and addiction prevention (Besluit werving, reclame en verslavingspreventie kansspelen) Regulation recruitment, advertising, and addiction prevention (Regeling werving, reclame en verslavingspreventie kansspelen) Finally, relevant policy rules and guidelines from the NGA include: Remote Gambling Policy Rule 2026 (Beleidsregels vergunningverlening kansspelen op afstand 2023) Responsible Gambling Policy Rule (Beleidsregels verantwoord spelen 2024) Guidance on AML Act (Leidraad Wet ter voorkoming van witwassen en financieren van terrorisme (Wwft)) Policy Rules on Involuntary Registration in Central Register (Beleidsregels onvrijwillige inschrijving register) Policy Rules on Duty to Provide Information (Beleidsregels Informatieplicht) ## Period of licence & renewal process Licences are valid for a maximum of five years. The first licences to be awarded, which were valid as of 1 October 2021, have recently expired, and with the publication of the 2026 iteration of the Remote Gambling Policy Rule, it became clear how the NGA would address the licensing process for an entity’s second, subsequent, licence. Primary legislation does not provide scope for licences to be extended beyond the five-year mark. Essentially licence holders had to run through the full licence application process again, but were often able, save for new requirements, to simply declare that they were fully compliant with particular requirements, thereby reducing the amount of documents needed for submission. ## Application timeframe and phrases The NGA will have six months to assess a licence application, with the possibility of extending this period for another six months. ## List of documents & type of information needed to support application As of 1 January 2026 new requirements apply to licence applications, which also apply to those who are applying for a second licence designed to commence following the expiry of their first licence, often informally referred to as a renewal application, in accordance with the Remote Gambling Policy Rule 2026. For those who are applying for such a second licence the application form allows an applicant to, in relation to selected topics, simply declare that they are compliant with the relevant requirements without submitting documentation again. The text below provides a global overview of the documents which need to be provided, without drawing out those which may be omitted in an individual instance. Subject to this observation, the following policies, plans and forms must be covered: Responsible gambling policy Advertising policy AML policy covering, where appropriate, match-fixing. A business risk assessment must also be submitted Outsourcing policy & overview of suppliers Internal monitoring policy Integrity policy Payments form Continuity form New documents required for applications as of January 2026 include: A “prevention of breaches” document in which the applicant looks back at the current licence period and wrongdoings established by the NGA, detailing measures taken to ensure that such matters will not occur again. Essentially answering the question; “what have you learnt from your errors and how will you ensure that it will not happen again?”. This only applies to applicants applying for a remote gambling licence whilst already holding one in the Netherlands, and as such does not apply to first time applications. - Exit plan: A plan which details how the applicant will wind down their operations in the event of exiting the market. This must cover various legal, organisational and technical matters, such as managing the process for ensuring that player funds are returned to (former) players. - Notification policy: Detailing how the applicant will ensure that will be able to fulfil the notification obligations during the lifetime of its licence, which relate to matters such as integrity (changes in key persons, new antecedents, etc.), Control Database (“CDB”) and CRUKS (Centraal Register Uitsluiting Kansspelen), and reporting incidents within the appropriate timeframes. In addition to the above, an applicant must: Pay the non-refundable application fee of EUR 61.300 Pay the security guarantee of EUR 50.000 (in practice, this is rolled over for a subsequent application) Declare compliance with sanctions requirements Demonstrate the design or actual set-up of the measures put in place for the separation of player funds Have had the game system tested and certified, which requires development work to be done before application Obtain a “release advice” demonstrating that their system can connect to CRUKS Submit information about the CDB, so that the NGA can run tests on the data safe solution during the licensing process. The successful conclusion of which is a condition for being granted a licence Provide information regarding the reliability of all natural and legal persons, which may also include those outside the group structure of the applicant entity ## Geographical cover A remote gambling licence awarded by the NGA is intended for supplying remote gambling services to those in the Netherlands. That said, the law does not set clear boundaries to this. There is no requirement to use a .nl domain extension. ## Mechanics of the licence process There is no cap on the number of licences available. There is no window for applications to be submitted; they can be submitted at any time. ## Bad Actor / Cooling off periods Applicants which, in eight years prior to their application, have had an unlicensed remote gambling presence on the Dutch market can expect that this will weigh extremely heavily against them. This is the NGA’s “default position” when reviewing the reliability of applicants. This includes offers which were available in the Netherlands despite not being targeted at the jurisdiction. Whether the offer was licensed in another jurisdiction is immaterial. However, in the first year that the licensing regime was open the NGA offered a degree of leniency for those operators which could demonstrate 33 months’ worth of compliance with the so-called “cooling-off criteria”. If the applicant could do so and submitted their application prior to or on 31 March 2022 then the unlicensed presence was not held against them. This applied also to those operators who had previously been sanctioned by the NGA for offering unlicensed games of chance (conditional upon them being able to demonstrate compliance with the criteria). In a January 2022 Gaming in Holland Webinar, the NGA indicated that it would produce guidance around the situation post-31 March 2022. During the webinar the NGA recognised that the principle of proportionality has a role to play here. Therefore, it could well be, that operators which have merely taken a handful of players without there being any other cause for concern will not be treated as harshly as those which have taken custom from a substantial number of customers. This guidance has not been published. Therefore, for those operators who have had an unlicensed presence in the Netherlands in the past eight years it will be necessary to carefully weigh up the merits of submitting an application. ## Applicant considerations To be eligible to apply for a licence, an applicant must be a public limited or a private limited liability company (or local equivalent) established within the EU or EEA. Licensees must have at least one addiction prevention representative available for the Netherlands. However, this individual need not be in the Netherlands, but sufficiently present in order to carry out their tasks. Their knowledge must also include the Dutch healthcare landscape. This requirement is unique to the Netherlands. In all instances, the NGA will undertake a thorough review of the licence applicant’s reliability. Not only will this include the directors and shareholders of the applicant entity itself, it will also cover all natural and legal persons when looking at the corporate structure. In contrast to other jurisdictions it will also branch out horizontally, so as to include so-called “ancillary” entities. Policymakers within the applicant entity will also be captured. Information will have to be provided about gambling licences held, withdrawn and suspended, as well as criminal sanctions, administrative fines and other sanctions, to which the relevant natural and legal persons have been subject to. Betting: Licensees must not organise bets on negative events or events that can easily be manipulated during a contest (e.g., yellow/red cards, injuries in football matches and amateur matches). Betting can take the form of pool betting, pari-mutuel, and exchange betting. Spread betting is prohibited. Bets can only be taken on sports competitions. Licensed operators are not permitted to take bets on non-sporting events (e.g., whether it will snow in London on Christmas Day or whether a British Prime Minister will be in office for a longer period of time than the time it takes a lettuce to perish). They are also prohibited from taking bets on the outcome of domestic and foreign lotteries. Secondary legislation contains a so-called ‘whitelist’ of competitions for which it may reasonably be assumed that the matches are covered by significant safeguards against the risks of manipulation and therefore the operator is not required to carry-out an assessment of the risk of match-fixing prior to the competition). Competitions on the whitelist include: Football: Eredivisie men and women Eerste Divisie UEFA Champions League Tennis: Davis Cup ATP Tournaments WTA Tournaments. There is also a ‘blacklist’, which contains competitions and in-game events that are classified as negative or that are easy to manipulate, and thus cannot be offered. For example, it is expressly forbidden to offer bets on football matches in the third or lower divisions, or those where sportspersons are under 21. In terms of in-game events, bets cannot be taken, in terms of tennis as an example, on double faults and the loss of a specific set. Licensees must pursue an effective policy to prevent manipulation of competitions (e.g., analysing those matches on which bets are placed and upholding an information obligation towards the relevant contest organiser and the relevant sports organisation). Operators must then navigate the space between the white and blacklists, in deciding on which competitions they will take bets on, in light of the results from their assessment into match-fixing risks. Offering bets on virtual sports and fantasy sports betting is allowed under the current regime. Betting on virtual sports qualifies as a casino game given that the outcome is based on an RNG. Fantasy sports qualify as sports-betting. Esports betting is only allowed when the underlying Esports contest is organised by, or under, the auspices of the national sports organisations recognised by the Netherlands Olympic Committee (NOC*NSF) and their members or by comparable international sports organisations, which is – at the time of writing – not (yet) the case. In as far as prediction markets offer bets on the outcome of sporting competitions, and in accordance with the abovementioned requirements, then such markets could fall within the scope of the current licensing regime. When the regulatory regime was introduced, exchange betting, as a form of betting, was one which was explicitly noted as being captured by the regime. However, not all imaginable sports bets are permitted and, equally, markets on matters which are not based on the outcome of a sports competition fall outside of the licensing regime. Bingo: Under the licensing regime short-odds, high-tempo bingo games are licensable as casino games. There is no separate “bingo licence”. Long-odds, low-tempo bingo games are not licensable as they are deemed to fall within the definition of a lottery. Casino: A game is considered a game of chance when the following two elements are present: - An opportunity is provided for participants to compete for prizes or premiums - The winners of these prizes are designated through a means over which the players are generally unable to exercise a dominant influence Whilst the BGA is silent on the notion of prizes or premiums, the BGTA notes that prizes and premiums include “all goods to which an economic value can be attached, which accrue to the participants in the games of chance by virtue of their participation” (Article 3(2) BGTA). Supreme Court case law has established that the question whether participants are generally unable to exercise a dominant influence, can be determined by the results which are achieved in practice by the majority of participants, or, how the majority of the participants play the game in practice. A stake or consideration is not required for a game to fall within the definition of a game of chance. The definition of a game of chance has not changed with the introduction of the remote gambling licensing regime. Therefore, if free play/social casino games offer prizes with a real world (economic) value then they will fall within the prohibition on unlicensed games of chance. It will then be necessary to obtain a remote gambling licence to lawfully offer them in the Netherlands, or alter the games so that no prizes are awarded (or ensure that the outcome is determined by skill, which will not always be possible depending on the game in question). There is an exception for promotional games of chance, however, as the name suggests, such games cannot be offered as an activity in their own right, but only to promote another good or service. Under the remote gambling regulatory regime, online casino gaming is licensable as follows: - Casino games in which the players play against the licence holder (e.g., blackjack) - Casino games in which the players play against one another (e.g., poker) Lottery: Remote gambling licences do not cover offering lotteries on a remote basis. Whilst the charity lotteries offered under Article 3 BGA (non-incidental games of chance licence) may be offered online without having an offline offer, they are not regulated as remote gambling as such. 40% of all revenues generated by a charity lottery must go to good causes, and the operation cannot (directly at least) generate private profit. The national lottery is subject to a permanent monopoly. Lotteries cannot be offered without a licence. Lottery messenger services and lottery syndicates, enabling customers to participate in lottery draws outside the Netherlands, breach the prohibition on promoting unlicensed games of chance. Non-Dutch residents are permitted to participate in Dutch lotteries. Dutch residents are not permitted to participate online in non-Dutch lotteries Poker: Amendments introduced by the RGA include a provision which explicitly establishes that poker falls within the scope of the BGA. Moreover, international liquidity is permitted, as the legislator has recognised the importance of an international pool of players to achieve the channelisation objectives underpinning the legislation (80% of the market should be supplied by locally licensed operators). As such, the licensing regime allows for the pooling of players from other jurisdictions. Note that in February 2025 the State Secretary of Justice and Security announced that channelisation would no longer be an objective of the regulatory regime for remote gambling. The regulatory regime does not distinguish between different types of remote gambling licence, however depending upon the application submitted, the licence will enable the licence holder to offer between one and four categories of gambling. Those wishing to offer poker must ensure that their licence covers offering casino games where players play against each other. There is no separate licensing regime for platform providers. Should an applicant/licence holder wish to outsource the provision of this part of their system to a third party then they will be responsible for ensuring that this part of their game system has been successfully tested and certified by their testing body. Skill games: Games of skill fall outside the scope of the prohibitions of the BGA and, as such, beyond the competence of the NGA. Games which do not satisfy the definition of a game of chance will still have to be offered in a manner which satisfies general consumer protection law requirements when being offered in the Netherlands. This will include avoiding unfair commercial practices and misleading advertising. Software/B2B: The Dutch legislator decided not to create an “additional licensing system for intermediaries (so-called B2B licences) such as gambling software suppliers”, as “the objectives of the games of chance policy can be sufficiently safeguarded without such an additional licensing system” and “such a system would unnecessarily entail additional costs and administrative burdens.” However, there are extensive outsourcing requirements which fall upon the shoulders of the (B2C) licence applicant/holder. Each licence applicant/licence holder must be able to demonstrate that it has ascertained that suppliers comply with the BGA and legislation pertaining to the prevention of money-laundering and also that relating to sanctions regimes. The applicant/licence holder must also ensure that it is able to pass through obligations arising under Dutch legislation to those to whom it outsources various elements of, or those necessary for supporting, its licensed offering. Outsourcing cannot be grounds for failing to fully uphold all regulatory requirements, and the NGA has to be convinced that this will indeed be the case. As part of the “internal monitoring policy” an operator will also have to demonstrate it will continue to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements by a supplier. Whilst there is no additional licensing system as such, many burdens fall upon the operator’s shoulders. The requirements which the game system must satisfy (regardless of whether developed in-house or provided by a supplier) are found within version 2.1 of the Gaming System Assessment Scheme (Keuringsschema spelsysteem kansspelen op afstand) , available in Dutch and English at: https://kansspelautoriteit.nl/voor-zakelijke-aanbieders/online-kansspel/keuren-spelsysteem/ Changes to an operator’s game system must be tested and certified in advance of the change taking place, subject to some exemptions including urgent situations where immediate changes are required to avoid the system crashing. In such instances testing must take place immediately afterwards.