Since October 2024, the Netherlands has seen a steady increase in traffic to illegal gambling sites. The cause? The deposit limits imposed since 1 October 2024 by the Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa), at least according to a study conducted by Quality Mark Responsible Affiliates (KVA). These measures, designed to protect gamblers from the risks associated with excessive gambling, appear to be having unexpected consequences.
Deposit limits
On 1 October 2024, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Dutch gaming regulator, introduced compulsory deposit limits for all online players. These restrictions set a monthly ceiling of €300 for players aged between 18 and 24 and €700 for those over 24. The main aim of this initiative is to protect gamblers, particularly young adults, from the financial risks associated with excessive gambling.
Increased traffic to illegal sites
Despite the good intentions behind these measures, a recent study by Quality Mark Responsible Affiliates (KVA) revealed a worrying rise in traffic to illegal gambling sites. They analysed online searches such as ‘casino without limits’ or ‘casino without Cruks’ (the Dutch self-exclusion system), and found a steady increase in the number of illegal casinos appearing in search results. The number of such domains rose from 19 in October 2024 to 72 in March 2025.
At the same time, traffic to these illegal sites has grown exponentially. In October 2024, the number of visits was 172,576. This figure rose to 294,255 in November, then to 412,997 in February 2025. On 5 March 2025, traffic passed the one million visits mark.
Consequences for the legal market
Overly strict restrictions have slowly led players to turn to unconstrained alternatives. Unfortunately, these are only offered by illegal gaming platforms. Eric Konings, former acting director of the Nederlandse Online Gambling Associatie (NOGA), has expressed his concerns about the future of the Dutch gambling market. He points out that tax hikes, increasing restrictions and advertising bans are making it difficult for legal operators to survive, while the illegal market is thriving.
Reactions from the authorities and experts
Faced with this situation, the KVA is calling for a balanced approach to the regulation of online gambling. The organisation warns that additional advertising restrictions could have the opposite effect by encouraging more players to turn to illegal platforms.
For its part, the Ksa has noted a decrease in the number of players losing more than €1,000 per month, from 4% to 1% since the introduction of the new rules. But there is no evidence that these figures reflect the reality of the players. This drop is probably due to the movement of high-risk players to unregulated sites, taking them out of the legal statistics.