The Dutch illegal gambling market surpassed the legal sector in revenue in 2025, amid strict protection rules that lure players to the black market.
The Dutch casino regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has raised the alarm over channelling, which has fallen from 51% at the end of 2024 to 49% in the first half of 2025. In its 2025 annual report published on Tuesday, it warned that the illegal market has surpassed the licensed sector in terms of operators’ GGR.
The majority of spending on casinos in the Netherlands is now accounted for by unlicensed operators, while total revenue from licensed operators remained largely unchanged in the second half of 2025 compared to the previous year, at €602 million.
Over the past few years, the introduction of stricter player protection measures, such as deposit limits and increased gambling tax rates, has led to a decline in channeling. The drop signals that nearly half of all gambling spend is leaking to unlicensed operators.
The regulator mandated deposit limits of €700 for players aged over 24 and €300 for those aged 18 to 24 in October last year. Originally intended to ensure safer gambling practices, the measures implemented instead slowed down spending by legal players.
In October last year, deposit limits were put in place by the regulatory authority for players aged 18 to 24 years of €300 and for players aged over 24 years of €700. Initially intended to promote safer gambling; however, this measure has resulted in delays in the amounts of money players use on regulated sites.
Although there have been 1.38 million player registration for H2 2025 , the average amount of money being used on regulated gaming sites has decreased as compared to H1 2025. Despite a strong number of registered players, because of deposit limits and the requirement that players comply with the law, players have reduced gambling amounts per player.
Michel Groothuizen, KSA chairman, has indicated that the KSA will take on illegal operators and the illegal supply they rely on innovatively rather than pursuing individual illegal sites one at a time.
According to the KSA (Kansspelautoriteit), the illegal online gambling marketplace is approximately €617 million for H1 2025 and has maintained a similar level of activity from licensed operators that were recorded at €600 million. The regulatory authority also stated that the number of channelised players is still quite high, at 94%, with most of the registered players, still have their accounts with licensed providers but have begun to use unlicensed providers; either online or offline.
The KSA has also seen a 34% year-over-year increase in reports of illegal gambling in 2025, reaching 2,005. Therefore, the KSA established a new collaborative initiative called Project Disconnect.
