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Dutch lawmakers spent most of Wednesday debating a series of gambling motions, with most of the proposals focused on tackling illegal operators. Over eight motions were tabled, ranging from building a public blacklist to introducing DNS blocks, while others touched on tax rates and the legal status of prediction markets.
Labour MPs Songül Mutluer and Barbara Mohandis argued that the Kansspelautoriteit, the national gambling regulator, lacks the tools to quickly take illegal sites offline.
They proposed a central public list of unlicensed operators that payment providers, hosting companies, and social media platforms could use to block services. The MPs also stressed that the list should be easy for players to find, giving them a clear way to check if an operator is licensed before depositing money.
Targeting networks behind illegal sites
Mutluer and Mohandis followed up with another motion calling for a pilot programme to disrupt the infrastructure that keeps illegal gambling networks running.
They asked the government to work with the regulator, prosecutors, and police to focus on payment flows, hosting arrangements, and the individuals behind these operations.
A separate motion from Tijs van den Brink supported plans to introduce DNS blocking powers against foreign gambling sites. He added that when a site is blocked, users should see a warning message explaining the risks of online gambling and directing them to Cruks, the national self‑exclusion register, along with support services.
Total ad ban rejected again, but votes on heavy restrictions to be held
The first motion on advertising came from VVD MP Bikkers, supported by Tijs van den Brink and Barbara Mohandis.
They asked the government to amend the Gambling Act so that platforms repeatedly showing illegal gambling adverts after removal requests would themselves be committing an offence. Under this proposal, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) could issue administrative fines or penalty orders directly against those platforms.
The motion pointed to the regulator’s reports of thousands of monthly takedown requests to Meta that have not led to lasting results, arguing that a clear legal requirement is missing to ensure adverts are removed and kept offline.
State Secretary Van Bruggen told MPs to decide on the platform motion themselves but advised against a separate proposal from SGP MP Diederik van Dijk that called for a complete ban on gambling advertising, both online and offline, and tougher enforcement against illegal adverts.
Dispute over gambling tax and prediction markets
MP Nagip Al Biyati raised concerns about the gambling tax, which was increased to 37.8% at the start of 2026.
He argued that the higher rate has reduced revenue and driven more players toward illegal sites, pointing out that the Ministry of Justice and Security has admitted the increase has not improved protection against gambling harm.
His motion called for the rate to be lowered back to 34.2%, but the government said the proposal was premature, asking parliament to wait for further review.
Al Biyati also addressed prediction markets, noting that platforms such as Polymarket are treated as illegal gambling under current law, even though they claim to operate as financial markets.
He warned that banning them outright without offering a regulated alternative risks pushing users to unlicensed foreign platforms. His motion asked the government to study whether prediction markets could be regulated under a new subcategory of gambling law. The government declined to support the proposal in its current form.
The accepted proposals will now be scheduled for a vote on September 29. Even if MPs approve them, most of the motions will not change the law immediately but would instead require the government to introduce the necessary legal provisions before they take effect.
