Licensed Dutch Operators Take 59% Share of Online Gaming Revenue in H1 2026

Licensed online gambling operators in the Netherlands generated approximately €670 million ($750 million) in gross gaming yield during the first half of 2026, the Kansspelautoriteit reported on 30 October 2026. That figure is up 11% on the second half of 2025, while the number of people gambling with legal providers remained broadly unchanged.

Market numbers and player activity

The Ksa estimated licensed operators accounted for 59% of online gross gaming yield (BSR) in H1 2026, up from 54% in H2 2025. The regulator translated consumption into player terms and estimated about 820,000 people used licensed providers at some point between January and June 2026. Panel data from GfK put the monthly average of people gambling at licensed sites at roughly 490,000.

Operators reported an average of 1.48 million active accounts each month in H1 2026, compared with 1.38 million in H2 2025. The Ksa said that increase in accounts implies more activity among existing customers rather than a larger playing population.

Measuring losses by account and by person gave different pictures. The average monthly loss per active account remained around €75, while accounts belonging to people aged 18–23 averaged €34. After adjusting for people using multiple accounts and intermittent play, the regulator estimated average monthly player losses of €137 per person, up from €121 in the preceding six months.

The Ksa presented the possibility that players may spread gambling across multiple providers in response to rules including the net deposit limits introduced in October 2024, but framed this as a suggested explanation rather than a confirmed causal link.

Operators opened 563,000 accounts during the half-year, up from 529,000 in H2 2025. The regulator noted a clear increase in June that coincided with the start of the men’s FIFA World Cup; sports betting produced approximately €163 million, or 24% of licensed revenue, compared with a share of roughly 20% in the previous half-year. Casino games against the house remained the largest category, producing €492 million and about 73% of total licensed revenue. Sports wagering showed greater month-to-month variation than casino activity.

Advertising, treatment and youth account trends

Licensed operators reduced online advertising placements by around 33%, falling from approximately 75,000 monthly placements in H2 2025 to 50,000 in H1 2026. Industry association VNLOK has taken Meta to court, alleging that more than 90% of gambling advertisements on Facebook come from operators without a Dutch licence. The Dutch government proposed a near-total online gambling advertising ban in June 2026.

Specialised services treated 3,108 people for gambling as their primary problem in 2025, an increase of 14% from 2024. The Cruks self-exclusion register added an average of about 2,076 people per month, reaching roughly 120,200 registrations by 31 July 2026.

Young adults were overrepresented in account figures: people aged 18–23 held approximately 22% of legal gambling accounts while making up 9.2% of the adult population. Separate Ksa research found that 11% of accounts opened by 18-year-olds during 2024–2025 dated from their birthday and 38% opened within a month of turning 18.

The Ksa acknowledged that estimating the unlicensed market remains difficult. Its method combines GfK participation data with an approach based on Google Ads search volumes to produce its estimate of licensed capture and the complementary unlicensed share. The regulator said it continues to refine those calculations.