How to get a gambling licence in the Netherlands

The Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) is the independent administrative body that supervises and licenses gambling in the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, operating under the political responsibility of the Ministry of Justice and Security and funded by an industry levy. Online gambling was legalised by the Remote Gambling Act, in force from 1 April 2021 (parts H and N followed on 1 October 2021); the licensed market opened in October 2021.

• The Koa Act amended the Betting and Gaming Act (Wok); online casino games and sports betting are now offered under a licensed regime, while lotteries and land-based casino monopolies remain governed separately under the Wok.
• Detail sits in the Remote Gambling Decree (Besluit koa) and Regulation (Regeling koa); the KSA sets application practice through the Licensing Policy Rules, updated to the BRVKOA 2026 with effect from 1 January 2026.
• The minimum age to participate is 18 (Wok Articles 14d, 20 and 27j); a package of tighter measures applies to young adults up to 24.

Laws that apply

• Betting and Gaming Act (Wet op de kansspelen, "Wok"), the umbrella statute
• Remote Gambling Act (Wet kansspelen op afstand, "Koa"), amended the Wok to legalise and regulate online play
• Remote Gambling Decree (Besluit kansspelen op afstand) and Remote Gambling Regulation (Regeling kansspelen op afstand), technical, AML and player-protection detail
• Licensing Policy Rules 2026 (Beleidsregels vergunningverlening kansspelen op afstand 2026, "BRVKOA 2026"), in force 1 January 2026
• Gambling Tax Act (Wet op de kansspelbelasting), the 37.8% gambling tax
• Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act (Wet ter voorkoming van witwassen en financieren van terrorisme, "Wwft")
• Advertising and addiction-prevention rules (Besluit werving, reclame en verslavingspreventie; ban on untargeted remote-gambling advertising in force 1 July 2023)

A single remote gambling licence (vergunning kansspelen op afstand) authorises online play in one or more statutory game categories. An applicant specifies which categories it seeks; the KSA can grant any combination.

• The licence term is up to five years (Wok art. 31a); there is no cap on the number of licences.
• Online lotteries and the state lottery / good-causes lottery monopolies fall outside the Koa licence and remain under separate Wok regimes.
• A licence is not transferable (Wok art. 31a(2)); widening or replacing the games offered requires a paid amendment (EUR 10,200).

The KSA assesses the applicant company, its policymakers and its ultimate beneficial owners for reliability (betrouwbaarheid) and suitability (geschiktheid). Establishment inside the EU/EEA is required; there is no route for a company from outside it.

• An NV, BV or SE with its statutory seat, head office or principal establishment in the EU/EEA may hold the licence directly; for a company from outside the EU/EEA, Wok art. 31g(5) allows an exemption, but the KSA's Beleidsregels 2026 art. 13.1 say the board grants none, so there is no branch route (Wok art. 31g(1), (5)).
• Reliability review covers antecedents, corporate structure and beneficial ownership (dossier modules B1-B16, with Bibob screening).
• A Wwft money-laundering risk analysis must be submitted with the application.
• A Dutch representative is required: available in person, Dutch-speaking, expert in gambling addiction, tested as a key-position person and named on the website (Bkoa art. 4.1).

Licensed remote operators pay gambling tax (kansspelbelasting) on their gross gaming result. The rate has risen twice in two years and is the single most important figure to get right in any Dutch business case.

• The current statutory rate is 37.8% (Wet op de kansspelbelasting, Article 5, version in force from 1 January 2026: "De belasting bedraagt 37,8 percent").
• The taxable base is gaming revenue: stakes less prizes paid, plus non-stake income (bruto spelresultaat).
• The licensed operator is itself the taxpayer, filing monthly; the player owes nothing on winnings from a Dutch-licensed provider.

There is a one-off, non-refundable application fee (leges) plus an annual levy (kansspelheffing) charged on gross gaming result. Fees were re-indexed with effect from 1 April 2026.

• The application fee for a remote gambling licence is EUR 61,300 from 1 April 2026 (Staatscourant 2026, 1642), up from EUR 48,000; the fee is non-refundable if the licence is refused.
• The kansspelheffing is 1.95% of gross gaming result, split by the KSA as 1.70% for the authority and 0.25% ring-fenced for addiction prevention (verslavingspreventie); it is a purpose-bound levy, distinct from the 37.8% gambling tax.

The KSA enforces a detailed duty of care (zorgplicht). Central to it are the national self-exclusion register CRUKS, player-set limits, and since 1 October 2024 a contact moment before a high deposit limit takes effect.

• CRUKS (Centraal Register Uitsluiting Kansspelen) is the national self-exclusion register maintained by the KSA. The operator must check the player against CRUKS at every login, not only at registration. A working, tested connection is a condition of obtaining and keeping the licence.
• Players register themselves for at least six months, irrevocable within that period; the KSA can also enter a player for six months (Wok art. 33da).
• Since 1 October 2024, a deposit limit of EUR 150 a month or more (aged 18-23) or EUR 350 or more (24 and over) takes effect only after the player speaks to the operator's addiction-prevention staff (Regeling koa art. 3.19d); the operator may not suggest a maximum.
• Operators must run a statutory addiction-prevention policy (verslavingspreventiebeleid), provide risk information, and act on problematic-play signals.

The gaming system must be independently assessed against the KSA conformity-assessment scheme, and the operator must give the KSA continuous access to a control database that records all relevant player and transaction data.

• Control database (controledatabank, "CDB"): the operator maintains a data store built to the KSA "Specifications for the remote gambling data safe" and "Data Model", and must demonstrate a working digital connection giving the KSA access to the data.
• The gaming system (random number generation, game fairness, data integrity) must pass an independent conformity assessment before the licence is used.
• Player balances must be safeguarded (dossier module E0); a Dutch stichting derdengelden is one recognised structure (Beleidsregels 2026, para. 7). The control database must sit in the Netherlands (Bkoa art. 4.42(2)).
• Under the BRVKOA 2026 the applicant must submit an exit plan (how the offering is wound down when the licence ends) and a protocol for notifying the KSA of material changes to policy or operations.

Remote gambling operators are obliged entities under the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act (Wwft), supervised for this purpose by the KSA.

• Customer due diligence applies when a business relationship is entered (Wwft art. 3(5)(a)), and for incidental gambling transactions from EUR 2,000 (art. 3(6)); an unusual transaction, a lower bar than a suspicious one, must be reported to FIU-Nederland (art. 16(1)).
• A documented Wwft risk analysis must accompany the licence application (BRVKOA 2026).
• The Besluit koa also imposes match-fixing prevention and integrity-monitoring duties alongside the AML regime.

The Netherlands operates one of Europe's strictest advertising regimes for online gambling, built around a ban on untargeted advertising that took effect on 1 July 2023.

• Untargeted advertising for online gambling is prohibited from 1 July 2023: no TV or radio commercials, no outdoor or billboard advertising, and no untargeted sponsorship.
• Sponsorship by online operators ran on under a transition until 1 July 2024 outside sport and 1 July 2025 in sport; both have ended.
• Remote licensees may not use role models at all: athletes, actors, models, influencers, vloggers and bloggers (Regeling wrvk art. 4(2)-(3)).
• Targeted online advertising is permitted only under strict conditions: at least 95% of the audience reached must be 24 or older, and recipients must be able to opt out.

The KSA actively pursues unlicensed operators and their facilitators, and publishes its sanction decisions. The public register of licensees is the authoritative list of who may legally offer online gambling.

• The KSA can impose administrative fines and cease-and-desist orders subject to a penalty (last onder dwangsom), and pursues payment providers, affiliates and influencers who facilitate illegal offerings.
• A fine may reach the greater of the sixth-category amount (EUR 1,100,000 from 1 January 2026, Sr art. 23(4)) or 10% of the previous year's turnover (Wok art. 35a); the largest so far is EUR 24,846,000 against Novatech Solutions (as imposed; objection filed), and fines are sometimes cut sharply on objection.
• The KSA's Kansspelwijzer lists every licence holder and the products each may offer.

A realistic path from decision to go-live for a remote gambling licence. The KSA decides within six months of a complete application, extendable by six months, with the clock suspended for a six-week cure period if the dossier is incomplete.

1. 01

   Confirm eligibility and establishment

   Structuring

   Use an NV, BV or SE seated in the EU/EEA (a company from outside it has no route), appoint the Dutch representative, and map beneficial ownership and policymakers for the reliability assessment.

2. 02

   Assemble the reliability and suitability dossier

   Corporate

   Compile antecedents, corporate structure, financing and integrity documentation for the reliability modules (B1-B16).

3. 03

   Draft the statutory policies

   Compliance

   Prepare the addiction-prevention policy, duty-of-care and deposit-limit procedures, advertising policy, and the Wwft money-laundering risk analysis required at application.

4. 04

   Build and independently certify the gaming system

   Technical

   Develop the platform and have it assessed against the KSA conformity-assessment scheme (RNG, game fairness, data integrity) by an inspection body designated by the Minister.

5. 05

   Set up the control database (CDB)

   Technical

   Build the control database to the KSA "Specifications for the remote gambling data safe" and "Data Model", and prove a working data connection that gives the KSA access.

6. 06

   Integrate CRUKS

   Player protection

   Implement the CRUKS check at every login; the KSA must have tested the connection before the licence is granted (dossier module H0).

7. 07

   Arrange player-fund safeguarding

   Financial

   Safeguard player balances (module E0) and post the EUR 50,000 financial security.

8. 08

   Prepare exit plan and change-notification protocol

   Governance

   Document how the offering will be wound down at licence end and how the KSA will be told of material changes to policy or operations (BRVKOA 2026).

9. 09

   Pay the fee and submit the application

   Filing

   Pay the non-refundable application fee (EUR 61,300 from 1 April 2026) and file the complete application through the KSA, specifying the game categories sought.

10. 10

    KSA assessment

    6 months, extendable by 6

    The KSA reviews reliability, suitability, technical conformity, CRUKS/CDB connectivity and player-protection measures, and may ask for supplementary information.

11. 11

    Pre-launch verification and go-live

    Launch

    Complete final technical checks and connectivity tests, then commence licensed operations within the granted categories.

12. 12

    Ongoing obligations and renewal

    Recurring

    Remit the 37.8% gambling tax and the 1.95% KSA levy on GGR, maintain duty-of-care and reporting, and prepare a new application well before the five-year term expires: there is no renewal provision, but existing licensees use a separate, lighter procedure at the same EUR 61,300 fee.

Tier-ordered: official government first, then practitioner, then trade media. Every primary figure was read from the in-force text on 4 Oct 2026.