Dutch Gambling Authority updates online gambling license rules from January 1, 2026

The update is necessary because the first licenses granted in September 2021 will expire on October 1, 2026, after a maximum term of five years. With the revised framework, the regulator aims to strengthen requirements for all applicants and provide more guidance for operators seeking a renewal.

Among the main changes, applicants must now submit a document explaining how they intend to notify the Dutch Gambling Authority in a timely manner about important changes in their policies or business operations. They must also provide an exit plan, outlining how they will phase out their online gambling offering if their license ends.

Reliability has also been tightened. If operators have failed to comply with binding or enforceable court rulings at the time of their application, their reliability will be questioned — which could be grounds for refusing the license. In addition, all applicants must now include an AML risk analysis (Wwft) with their application.

For operators already active in the market, a separate renewal procedure (vervolgvergunning) will apply. This will reassess critical elements such as the responsible gambling and addiction prevention policy, marketing and advertising practices, and the technical integration with the control database (CDB). Operators must also meet the new requirements imposed on all applicants.

When the Dutch online gambling market was opened, lawmakers deliberately set a limited five-year term for licenses so that the regulator’s supervisory experience could be taken into account in renewal applications. As a result, operators that have breached rules in the past five years will need to explain how they have addressed these issues and what measures they have implemented to prevent recurrence.

If the Dutch Gambling Authority finds these explanations insufficient, it may reject the renewal application or impose additional conditions and restrictions.