Date: 31.01.2025

by Sebastian Warowny

Study Finds Only 10% of Dutch Adults Gambled Online in 2024

A new report from the Scientific Research and Data Centre (WODC) reveals that only 10% of Dutch residents aged 16 and over engaged in online gambling in the past year, despite the market being regulated since 2021.

Online Gambling Engagement Remains Low

New research from the Scientific Research and Data Centre (WODC) in the Netherlands has revealed that only 10% of Dutch residents aged 16 and over participated in online gambling over the past year.

In contrast, 64% engaged in some form of offline gambling in 2024, with lotteries being the most popular option.

The data, released on January 29, provides insight into the Dutch gambling market, which has been regulated since October 2021.

While most gambling activity in the Netherlands still occurs offline, sports betting is the only segment where online participation has surpassed land-based gambling. According to the WODC findings, 4% of respondents placed bets online, compared to 3% who wagered at physical locations.

Concerns Over Youth Gambling and Addiction Risks

The WODC warns that younger players are particularly vulnerable to gambling-related harm, with data showing a notable risk of addiction among young adults engaging in online gambling. While only 1% of all Dutch gamblers were classified as high-risk, this figure surged to 18% among young adults who bet online through personal accounts.

Additionally, 11% of online gamblers using personal accounts were identified as high-risk, while 10% fell into the moderate-risk category according to the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), a widely recognized industry metric for assessing gambling-related harm.

The report highlights concerns that current Dutch regulations place too much responsibility on players to monitor their own gambling behavior, potentially leaving younger users at greater risk.

The WODC findings suggest that existing responsible gambling initiatives are not effectively reaching players. In 2024, only 24% of online gamblers received any form of pop-up message regarding their gambling behavior, while just 9% were contacted via chat or email.

Self-exclusion measures also appear underutilized, with only 4% of online gamblers opting for temporary exclusion and just 3% registering for an involuntary ban. Moreover, many problem gamblers were unaware of tools such as Cruks, the Netherlands’ national self-exclusion program.

Calls for Regulatory Reforms

In response to its findings, the WODC has outlined five key recommendations to strengthen Dutch gambling regulations:

  1. Centralized Duty of Care – Shifting responsibility from operators to a centralized regulatory framework to ensure a more consistent approach to player protection.
  2. Improved Data Access for Research – Making gambling data available for independent studies aimed at enhancing addiction prevention efforts.
  3. Stronger Regulatory Oversight – Expanding the authority of the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Dutch gambling regulator, to enhance its ability to monitor and enforce compliance.
  4. Stricter Measures Against Unlicensed Operators – Imposing greater restrictions on illegal gambling platforms operating without a Dutch license.
  5. Enhanced Player Protection – Introducing stricter safeguards for vulnerable groups, including young adults, and expanding public messaging from “preventing gambling addiction” to “preventing gambling harm” to address the broader negative impacts of gambling.