The gambling regulator in the Netherlands says recently introduced deposit limits may be fuelling illegal market activity, even if they are reducing average loss per player.
Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) said gross gaming revenue from legal operators has fallen by eight per cent since the introduction of the rules in October 2024.
While the KSA said the channelisation rate remains at 93 per cent, search volume for the top 100 illegal operators has increased.
The regulator will publish figures on monetary channelisation later this month alongside an impact assessment on the Netherlands’ gambling tax rate increase to 37.8 per cent.
Nevertheless, the KSA said the average loss per account has dropped by 31 per cent from an average of €116 per month in the eight months prior to the limits, to €80 per month in the eight months after.
Before the changes, the KSA said about four per cent of players lost more than €1000, which has fell to one per cent.
“However, there is a possibility that heavy gamblers are now turning to illegal operators,” it added.
The government’s Ministry of Justice and Security’s rules stipulate that operators must contact players aged 18-24 who want to set a monthly deposit limit of more than €150, and contact must be made for players aged 25 and over who want a limit of €350 or more.
The KSA, meanwhile, mandates on net deposits that if young adults deposit more than €300 or adults aged 25 and over deposit €700 or more in a month, they must be contacted by an operator, who must verify affordability.
“The percentage of players exceeding these deposit thresholds has dropped further – from 9.7 per cent to 2.2 per cent,” the KSA said.
“In the previous measurement, it was 3.8 per cent. Among young adults, the percentage dropped from 12 per cent to 1.9 per cent (previously 2.8 per cent).
