Growth of the online gambling market is starting to level off

The online gambling market, which originally experienced very rapid growth, is starting to level off. The gross gaming result (stake minus prizes paid) has increased in 2023, but the growth is noticeably less than in 2022.

The Dutch Gaming Authority (Ksa) made this finding following their latest monitoring report. This supervises online gambling, which was legalized in the Netherlands 2.5 years ago.

The Ksa states that the Dutch gambling market is now growing less strongly than in comparable countries. The number of accounts has increased, but the number of people who occasionally gamble remains virtually the same.

Figures from 2023

The 2023 figures indicate that providers generated 1.39 billion euros in gross turnover. This is an increase of 28 percent compared to the previous year. Then the gross gaming result was 1.08 billion.

Looking at the second half of the year, the following is striking: In the second half of 2023, the amount increased by only 1 percent compared to the first half of the year.

Number of players

In the second half of 2023, 726,000 players were active at legal gambling providers via 1.1 million accounts. This means that 5 percent of the adult population took a gamble online during that period. For the most part, they did not play every month. The Ksa estimates that games are played from approximately one third of the accounts. That brings the number of players to 448,000 players per month.

Playing behavior

Young people (18 to 23 years old) receive special attention in the monitoring report. Young people still gamble more often than older players. Although they make up 9.5 percent of the population, they account for 22 percent of accounts. This percentage was approximately the same in the previous report, so the number of young people playing has not increased noticeably in the past year. On the other hand, they lose less money. For them this amounts to an average of 52 euros per month.

The Ksa says it is still unable to say what the effect of legalization will be on the number of gambling addicts. Experts say it could take years for players to ask for help. It is estimated that older players (from 24 years old) lost an average of 958 euros in the last six months of 2023. That is approximately 160 euros per month. This is slightly lower than in the first half. That amounted to 170 euros.

The objective of opening the online market has been achieved

The aim of opening the online market in the Netherlands was to ensure that at least 8 out of 10 players would play with legal providers and that they would therefore not focus on the illegal market. With legal providers, they end up in a safer environment where measures can also be taken to deal with any gambling problems. That goal has certainly been achieved. 90% of players only play through legal providers.

The Gaming Authority says that it cannot say with certainty what the effect of legalization will be on the number of gambling addicts. The number of players who register themselves in the Cruks register (in Belgium this is called EPIS) for at least six months continues to rise. Anyone who is included in this register cannot play anywhere during that period, not even in a physical casino or betting office. There are currently more than 66,000 people included in this register.

Possible explanation for the leveling off of the online gambling market

The Ksa itself does not provide an explanation for this in their report, but a spokesperson mentions the partial advertising ban that came into effect on July 1, 2023 as the most likely reason. Since then, gambling advertising has been banned on radio, television, magazines and in outdoor areas. The number of visits to gambling websites by people who are not players has fallen sharply.

In October 2021, the Netherlands legalized online gambling and the advertising campaign that accompanied it caused resentment in the House of Representatives. According to the spokesperson, advertising is now also being done in a different way. Gambling companies allocate their budgets differently and now sponsor more programs on radio and TV.