Dutch government proposes online gambling reforms with advertising and bonus bans

The Dutch government has proposed a stricter online gambling policy, moving from channel controls to product and spend controls. In a 12 June statement, the government said it would pursue this policy after gambling participation and addiction rose following the legalisation of the online market. The package includes a ban on online gambling advertising, a ban on bonuses, cross-operator deposit limits, and additional enforcement tools against illegal supply, according to the Ministry of Justice and Security (Government of the Netherlands statement, 12 June: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/).

The policy shift targets younger cohorts. The government said too many people still see online gambling advertising despite existing restrictions, including the role-model ban and the decree on untargeted remote-gambling advertising. This particularly affects people who are not seeking such advertising, especially young people. State Secretary Van Bruggen said it was "the highest time to reverse this trend" as more people, particularly younger individuals, have started gambling online and encountered difficulties.

One measure goes beyond operator-level affordability checks. The government will introduce overkoepelende speellimieten, effectively cross-operator deposit limits for funds placed into player accounts. Players seeking a higher limit must first demonstrate sufficient financial capacity. The government is developing a draagkrachttoets, or financial-capacity test, to assess whether a player is under guardianship or administration, has payment arrears, and can support a higher limit based on their financial situation.

The package will be incorporated into a legislative proposal. Compared with Sweden's Spelinspektionen model, the Dutch approach is less about a single compliance control and more about retuning the entire acquisition funnel. Advertising, bonuses, and deposit ceilings each affect operator economics differently. Denmark maintains a more permissive acquisition structure, while Sweden relies on bonus restrictions and supervision. The Netherlands appears to signal a broader repricing of channelisation economics across customer acquisition, retention, and affordability.

The government also said the package includes more instruments for tackling illegal aanbod, or illegal offers, and that it will examine restricting the number of online gambling licence holders. The statement does not specify what those additional enforcement tools would be, how any licence-cap review would be structured, or when the legislative text will be published.

Alongside the bill, Van Bruggen will work through a "Meerjarenagenda bescherming tegen gokschade", a multi-year agenda to structurally reduce gambling harm. This agenda covers awareness, countering the normalisation of gambling, safer product supply, earlier signalling, better access to help, and increasing knowledge about gambling harm, with specific reference to effects on players, their surroundings, and society.

For operators under KSA supervision, the operational read is clear even before the draft text appears. Marketing teams should prepare for a full ban on online gambling advertising, product teams should prepare for a ban on bonuses, and compliance teams should assess how cross-operator deposit limits and a financial-capacity test would interact with existing onboarding, player-risk, and AML-led restriction processes. The next step is publication of the legislative proposal; the 12 June government statement does not set a compliance date, leaving licensees awaiting the draft bill and any subsequent implementation timetable.