KSA reports 100,000 more Dutch online gambling accounts in first half of 2026

The Netherlands had just below 1.5 million online gambling accounts in the first half of 2026, an increase of 100,000, according to the Dutch gambling regulator, the KSA. The KSA said the rise was likely linked to the 2026 FIFA World Cup and to the deposit limit introduced two years ago, with some gamblers possibly opening accounts with several operators to keep their preferred betting levels despite the restriction.

Player losses at licensed operators climbed 11% year-on-year to €670m during the first half of 2026. Online casinos were responsible for 75% of those losses, with sports betting taking the other 25%, which was higher than in the second half of last year. The legal sector's share of total gambling losses came to 59%, compared with 54% in the previous half-year. Meanwhile, the KSA reported that roughly 490,000 people gambled each month, a figure that did not change.

According to the KSA, sports betting revenue month to month swings more widely than online casino revenue. The regulator attributes part of this to big tournaments, naming the European Championship and the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and part to the way sports betting gross gaming revenue hinges on a fairly small set of matches. The illegal market had been closing the gap with licensed operators last year, but the KSA said that movement seems to have stopped for now.

As account numbers began to rise earlier this year, the country considered heavy restrictions on gambling advertising to slow the trend, according to the report. Opponents said such a move would only benefit the illegal sector.

Illegal websites hold the remaining quarter of the market, and the KSA says it is acting against them. Its most recent action was a record €37m fine handed to EOD Code SRL last week. Yet the regulator has recovered only about €1.5m out of more than €88m in penalties handed down across five and a half years. Fines, the KSA says, are a last resort; it is also pursuing faster tools such as shutting sites down and blocking payments, and it has been working with hosting companies and banks on these since last year.