A greater emphasis on player protection has been mentioned by the Dutch gambling authority, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), in its supervisory agenda for 2026.
Protecting vulnerable players and improving advertising and duty of care were also highlighted, coming in tandem with the recently established player protection department within the KSA’s new organisational structure.
Additional resources will also go towards combating illegal gambling in the Netherlands market, including collaborating with industry providers and social media companies.
Five key themes are outlined by the authority in the published agenda: tackling illegal gambling operators, protecting vulnerable groups, supervising the duty of care, supervising advertising and supervising compliance with the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act (Wwft).
These topics had already been revealed recently by KSA Chair Michel Groothuizen, who reiterated his desire for a ‘gambling Interpol’ formed by the world’s gambling regulators to improve information exchange for enforcement investigations against the black market.
Illegal offerings
For combating illegal online offerings, the KSA has outlined an “integrated approach that addresses all parties in facilitating illegal gambling”, stating that at least 90% of players continue to use legal providers and that the money going to illegal operators must be reduced by working with providers to disrupt the market and make it less viable.
In 2025, the authority noted it was successful in making .nl affiliates inaccessible through its cooperation with the Foundation for Internet Domain Registration in the Netherlands, while progress has been made with social media companies to remove illegal content, with further investigations into the Digital Service Act this year.
As for physical illegal offerings, the KSA is further analysing where slot machines go after an event such as a bankruptcy, while a dedicated network is being put in place to tackle supply to illegal land-based operations, supplementing existing networks with government agencies.
Protecting vulnerable groups
The KSA has stated that the number of minors and young adults coming into contact with gambling must be reduced, with many accessing accounts through adult acquaintances. Providers are being investigated with data from a control database to evaluate the issue.
Research will also be conducted into why young people gamble and what influences their gambling behaviour, as well as further preventative measures to stop untargeted adverts from reaching young people.
Awareness campaigns will also be renewed, while the Open over Gokken, Open about Gambling, website will be launched, providing support information for players and professionals alike.
Duty of care
In 2026, the KSA is calling upon operators to strengthen their duty of care to better protect players from risky or problematic gambling. Monitoring the compliance of online operators’ duty of care will be continued with particular focus on the tightened regulations for duty of care, gaming limits and gaming behaviour.
Studies to evaluate how providers assess the financial capacity of players are taking place, while other areas, such as speed of behaviour analysis, will be examined, in addition to the negative forms of behavioural management by operators and the extent to which this violates the duty of care.
Investigations into Cruks notifications and personal interviews will be completed in early 2026 and will feature recommendations that will be monitored for compliance.
Guidance on the use of AI and monitoring tools by operators will be published, while compliance with land-based duty of care will continue to be monitored in accordance with guidance published at the end of last year.
Advertising
The KSA wishes to reduce the number of advertising violations by operators, prevent advertising targeting vulnerable groups and address advertising by the illegal market.
The authority will continue to make sure there is compliance with advertising rules; prohibition of the use of role models, influencers, streamers, untargeted advertising and sports sponsorships.
Advertising remains permitted within strict conditions, with the KSA stating that further guidance will be published early this year.
AML
New AML regulations are in the pipeline for the market for monitoring financial sanctions and cash limits, according to the KSA. Wwft compliance will continue to be monitored via data-driven and risk-based monitoring, as well as investigations into several providers.
Publications and/or regulations are also expected from the AMLA, the newly established European anti-money laundering authority.
