Dutch gamblers set records in 2024
In the Netherlands, the online gambling world is booming. The first half of 2024 saw a growth of no less than 8%. And that was mainly due to the European Championship craze. The football tournament ensured that many people tried their luck with sports betting.
But, if we look at where most of the euros came from, it is the casino games that are the real winners. Think of online slots and live casinos, where players compete against the house.
The gross gaming result (what the gambling sites earned in total) amounted to an impressive €752 million. And that is a growth of 8% compared to the second half of 2023. This is the highest amount since online gambling became legal in the Netherlands. Pretty impressive, right?
What about Belgium?
Belgium is also doing well in the field of online gambling, although the market there is somewhat smaller. In contrast to the Netherlands, where the supply and regulations are somewhat more flexible, Belgium keeps a tighter grip on the reins. The number of license holders is lower and there are stricter rules for advertising.
Nevertheless, the demand for online gambling is also growing there. Just like in the Netherlands, young adults are playing an increasingly important role in the market. Sports betting in particular is popular with this group.
Young people and gambling: a growing phenomenon
In the Netherlands, young people between the ages of 18 and 23 are responsible for around 10.8% of the money that is gambled. That is quite a lot, especially when you consider that this group only makes up 9.4% of the adult population. Young people mainly play on sports bets, and lose a lot of money on this. On average, they bet around €55 per month.
A similar trend can be seen in Belgium. Young people know how to find their way to online gambling. Although there are stricter rules to protect young adults, it remains a challenge to keep them out of the gambling world.
Addiction: a growing problem
Not everything is rosy. In the Netherlands, we are seeing a worrying increase in the number of people seeking help for gambling addiction. In 2024, this will have increased by 28%. And we are mainly talking about young people between the ages of 18 and 20. Registration in the Cruks system, which allows you to exclude yourself from gambling, is also growing steadily. These are figures that the Netherlands cannot be happy with.
Belgium has a similar problem, but is trying to limit this with strict rules and controls. However, it remains difficult to completely curb the growth of gambling addiction among young people. Both countries continue to look for ways to prevent gambling addiction.
The future of advertising
In the Netherlands, the number of advertisements for online gambling on the internet has increased considerably, especially since TV and radio commercials were banned. But the question is how long this will continue. The government is also considering stricter rules here. The situation is different in Belgium. The rules for gambling advertising have always been stricter there, but here too the sector must increasingly adapt to changing legislation.