Legal online gambling market falls by 14% in the Netherlands
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14 Oct 2025 •
Reading time: 3 minutes In the first half of 2025, the legal online gambling market in the Netherlands suffered a clear contraction, according to the Najaar 2025 Monitoringsrapportage published by the Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa). GGR is down 14% compared to the previous six months.
A decline in figures and its causes
In the report published in autumn 2025, the Ksa reveals that GGR from legal online casinos amounted to €600 million in the first half of the year. This is lower than the figure for the second half of 2024, marking a 14% drop from the 697 million recorded in that period.
The authorities report that this fall is largely due to the introduction, from 1 October 2024, of stricter rules on net deposit limits under the Gambling Limits Regulations and Responsible Gambling Policy. These measures are designed to protect vulnerable players, but have also had a direct impact on the revenues of legal operators.
Channelling: legal vs illegal
One of the most worrying indicators is that of channelling: the proportion of players’ bets and losses going to legal offers compared with unauthorised platforms. According to the Ksa, only 49% of total player losses were captured by legal operators in the first half of 2025. The other half, an estimated €617 million, went to illegal sites.
This situation marks an increase in the influence of the illegal market, particularly following the adoption of new regulations. The authorities are warning that the heaviest players (those who deposit or play large sums) seem to be turning more to illegal gambling, where the restrictions imposed on legal platforms are circumvented or less respected.
Changes in the number of players and gaming behaviour
Despite the decline in legal GGR, the sector is not doing badly in terms of audience figures. The number of active accounts on legal platforms has risen to 1.29 million in the first half of 2025, compared with around 1.18 million in the second half of 2024. However, not all of these accounts are used every month. On average, 531,000 players play every month.
The report also notes that while many players now have several accounts, the majority have just one. However, the number of high-spending players remains crucial in calculating losses and revenues, and it is they who most negatively influence the overall financial trend of the legal market.
On the other hand, average loss behaviour per account has decreased slightly since the introduction of rules such as deposit limits.
Conclusion
The recent study of the online gaming market in the Netherlands shows that the protective legislation, which came into force in October 2024, is having an effect: individual losses are more limited, there are fewer extreme gamblers, and there is a growth in active accounts.But this success is accompanied by a downside: an erosion of legal GGR, and above all a channelling of funds into the illegal market, which is becoming the majority in terms of money played. The challenge today is to balance protective regulation and effective competition with the illegal sector, while ensuring the viability of legal operators.