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The Kansspelautoriteit introduced a new regulatory checklist yesterday, forcing Dutch gambling operators to target their ad campaigns or face suspension. In addition, the KSA anchors these new guidelines directly to the July 2023 ban on untargeted mass-market gambling advertising. This ban originated in the first wave of revisions to the Remote Gambling Act (KOA). Lawmakers first started the KOA as the foundational legislative framework that launched the regulated online gambling market in the Netherlands back in October 2021.
The 95% Threshold and Strict Age Gating
For these orders, licence holders must tailor their marketing campaigns exclusively toward individuals older than 24 years of age. Furthermore, operators must prove they meet a 95% compliance threshold regarding this specific demographic limit. To fulfill this mandatory threshold, advertisers must use strong age-gating tools, use complex audience segmentation, and also use protective algorithms. The KSA provides clear instructions: if operators deem these compliance mechanisms insufficient, they must terminate their campaigns immediately.
Consequently, the KSA demands that all license holders complete a specific checklist before they authorize any new marketing campaign. First, advertisers must confirm that every single promotional channel provides an accessible and clear opt-out mechanism. This specific feature must allow users to refuse gambling promotions instantly, and without requiring any user registration.
In addition, marketing teams must document their application of the “best available measures” to exclude vulnerable groups from seeing their advertisements. These required measures explicitly include deploying strict age-verification filters and using advanced behavioral targeting instruments. Advertisers must also critically assess platform reliability across the online landscape. Since digital environments like social media networks often struggle to guarantee perfectly compliant demographic outcomes, the KSA mandates a precautionary approach. If an external platform cannot promise exact targeting, the operator must withdraw the campaign fully. Furthermore, companies must support the 95% compliance threshold using highly verifiable data and fully auditable reporting.
Costs and the Need for Continued Monitoring
The regulator sets specific sanctions for noncompliance. Since 2023, KSA has punished multiple operators a total of €400,000 for violating previous advertising laws. The KSA specifically named the penalized companies, which include Bingoal, Hillside Media (bet365), TOTO NL, BetEnt, and JOI Casino.
Moreover, the recently issued guidance proves the KSA’s position that regulatory compliance requires constant monitoring rather than a single, one-time initial certification. Operators must always review campaign performance, continuously reassess platform risks, and frequently update their targeting methodologies to perfectly match shifting user behaviors and changing technologies. At last, this framework establishes a ‘comply or cease’ standard for the Dutch gambling sector.
A Political Unity Supports a Ban on Advertisements
Additionally, the Dutch parliament is under changes in politics that could update us with significant news on this particular subject. Following last year’s election, a new coalition of the People’s Party, D66 Democrats, and Christian Democrats came to power. These 3 parties aim to completely reorganize the KOA market.
Lawmakers include advertising controls and upgraded protections for young users as urgent areas. In addition, both parties advocate introducing a complete ban on all gambling advertisements across every possible media channel. Furthermore, these 2 political parties support raising the legal gambling age limit to 21 years old.
State Secretary Claudia Van Bruggen leads this reform catalog as of February 2026. She represents the third state secretary to manage the KOA market reforms since 2023. She currently faces the complex task of guiding operator compliance while simultaneously addressing the sweeping duty-of-care mandates demanded by the strong centrist coalition.
Source: KSA
