The Nederlandse Loterij has called on the government to ‘shut the back door’ to illegal gambling in the country, citing an apparent increase in illegal lotteries, betting and casinos.
The Dutch Lottery commissioned a report published earlier this month by Verinorm, a research institute, surveying 15,000 Dutch consumers, finding that 7.1% of respondents had participated in illegal gambling.
Segment-by-segment, the report identified online casinos as the leading non-lottery illegal gaming product, having been used by 1.7% of respondents. This was followed by illegal online sports betting at 1.4% and online poker at 1.3%.
However, other lotteries were also cited by the report, with the Nederlandse Loterij, National Postcode Lottery and other registered charity lotteries the only licensed lotteries in the Netherlands. Despite this, 3.4% of respondents said they had played with other lotteries, including Belgium’s Euromillions, the German Lotto and Spanish Lotto.
Arjan Blok, CEO of the Nederlandse Loterij, said: “The results of this study are alarming: increased participation in illegal gambling, more than half of these players have gambling problems, and a significant group started using illegal gambling sites at a young age.
“It makes it clear once again that the back door to illegal gambling must be closed. Because our calculations show that 200,000 players gamble illegally online, without any protection.”
Dutch Lottery joins black market calls
The prevalence of black market activity in the Netherlands has been a big talking point in the country for some time. Various stakeholders have warned the government about over-regulation and over-taxation, and the impact this could have on channelisation.
This is a familiar argument, having been made repeatedly in other markets like the UK over the years.
For the now-collapsed Dutch government, the industry’s concerns had to be weighed against the ever-constant need to fund state coffers, and a desire to curb gambling advertising, which many felt had become excessive since the market’s October 2021 re-regulation.
The Nederlandse Loterij’s report has still taken aim at restrictions, however, particularly marketing ones. The Netherlands saw an extensive advertising ban come into effect in 2024, and a total ban on sports sponsorships was introduced this July.
The report cites the “continuing restriction of advertising and sponsoring in the field of gambling” as making it difficult for licensed operators to better promote their products against the illegal ones of the black market.
In contrast, the fact that illegal operators by definition do not adhere to advertising restrictions has given them free game. The report claims that the number of people learning about illegal online betting through advertising has doubled and has tripled for online casinos.
It’s clear that a diverse range of Dutch market stakeholders are keen to see liberalisation of the country’s gambling restrictions. Getting what it wants is going to be a tough task, however, with both left and right wing political parties having endorsed a package of reforms.
The reforms to the Remote Gambling Act (KOA) of 2021 were approved by the Dutch parliament in April prior to the coalition government falling apart in June. Regardless of the outcome of next week’s election, it seems further regulatory tightening is on the horizon.
“It’s up to the government to closely monitor the effect of measures on channelisation, such as increasing gambling taxes and introducing limits,” Blok added.
“And we must work together — with the Gaming Authority, banks, tech companies like Google and Meta, and hosting services — to combat illegal offerings to truly protect players.”