The Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa), the Dutch gambling regulator, has published its Autumn 2025 monitoring report, warning of a turning point in the country’s online gambling market: while the legal market is slowing down, the illegal sector continues to expand.
According to the regulator, this trend is directly linked to the implementation of new player protection measures introduced a year ago, including stricter deposit limits. While these measures have helped reduce player losses, they have also had a negative impact on the revenues of licensed operators.
The gross gaming revenue (GGR) – total stakes minus prizes paid out – reached €600 million in the first half of 2025, down 16% from €697 million in the previous six months.
Despite this decline, the number of active monthly accounts continued to grow, rising from 1.18 million in the second half of 2024 to 1.29 million in the first half of 2025. During the same period, the share of active adult players also increased slightly from 5.4% to 5.7% of the population.
The Ksa explains that this apparent paradox — more players but less revenue — is due to the new restrictions, which have reduced average spending per player. The average monthly loss per player fell from €146 at the end of 2024 to €119 at the beginning of 2025.
The report also highlights the significant role of younger players in the market. Players aged 18 to 24 accounted for 23% of all active accounts in the first half of 2025, despite representing only 9.3% of the adult population. Their average monthly loss per account was also considerably lower (€37) than that of adult players (€78). Sports betting remains the most popular vertical among this demographic group.
Although channelisation by player numbers – the share of players gambling exclusively with licensed operators – remains stable at around 94%, channelisation by GGR continues to decline. The legal market’s share of total GGR dropped from 51% at the end of 2024 to 49% in the first half of 2025.
The Ksa described this as a “worrying development,” suggesting that some players are migrating to illegal platforms to avoid the new restrictions. In the unregulated market, player protection is significantly weaker, increasing the risks associated with gambling.
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