Dutch Councillor Pushes to Raise Online Gambling Age to 24 Amid Rising Youth Debt Crisis

Mounting financial problems among young people in the Dutch city of Enschede have intensified calls for stricter gambling regulation, with local councillor Meryam Sümer urging the Netherlands government to increase the legal minimum age for online gambling from 18 to 24.

Sümer, a representative of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and a welfare worker, has also advocated for tighter controls on buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services and stronger enforcement against gambling advertising, according to local reporting published Monday by AD.

Her proposal comes amid growing concern over rising debt levels among Dutch youth.

Municipal figures from Enschede reveal that one in five young residents in the city is currently dealing with debt-related problems. During 2025 alone, authorities recorded 12,145 reports involving individuals facing problematic debt situations. Of those cases, 960 involved residents at risk of eviction or the loss of essential utilities such as electricity and water.

The municipality has actively intervened in approximately 4,000 cases involving residents experiencing financial hardship. This intervention rate represents nearly one-third of all reported debt cases, considerably higher than the Dutch national average of roughly 20%.

According to Sümer, easy access to online gambling platforms and the widespread availability of modern credit products are playing a significant role in worsening the financial vulnerability of younger generations.

“Many youngsters do not yet have the financial awareness to manage multiple subscriptions, instalment purchases and gambling offers appearing on social media and within mobile games,” Sümer explained, warning that these influences are contributing to “serious problems” throughout the community.

She additionally pointed to gambling advertising as a continuing concern in the Netherlands.

The country has enforced strict gambling marketing regulations since 2013 under the Decree on Gambling Recruitment, Advertising and Addiction Prevention. In 2022, Dutch authorities expanded those measures by introducing a ban on gambling advertisements in public spaces.

Current regulations also prohibit gambling advertisements from targeting people under the age of 24. Despite those restrictions, a recent study found that 31 out of 277 advertisements displayed on Meta-owned platforms — approximately 11.2% — targeted audiences that included individuals aged between 18 and 23.

In response to these developments, Sümer has formally called for the legal gambling age for online betting and gaming to rise from 18 to 24. While she acknowledged that a complete prohibition on such products would be preferable from her perspective, she admitted that implementing an outright ban would likely not be politically achievable in the short term.

“The key is to reduce temptations (‘verleidingen’),” she said, arguing that stricter regulation is necessary to protect younger individuals from exposure to gambling opportunities and debt-related risks.

Sümer’s proposal follows previous discussions at the national level regarding gambling age reform. In February of last year, former Dutch State Secretary for Legal Protection Teun Struycken proposed increasing the minimum age for online slot games to 21. His proposal also included introducing age-linked restrictions on deposit limits for online gambling accounts.

The proposal generated significant debate within the Dutch gambling sector. The chairman of the Dutch Gambling Authority, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), publicly cautioned against raising the gambling age, warning that stricter restrictions could unintentionally push younger players toward illegal operators.

“We already see minors doing so. And for young people under 21, the illegal supply will still be accessible with a few mouse clicks, while they will no longer be able to enter legal parties, which must adhere to a strict duty of care,” the KSA chairman wrote in a blog published in February 2025.

The issue continued to gain political momentum during a parliamentary debate held one month later. During those discussions, Struycken suggested implementing the age increase gradually in an attempt to prevent younger consumers from immediately migrating to black-market gambling platforms.

Meanwhile, Mirjam Bikker, leader of the Christian Union party, also voiced concerns over the practicality of introducing different gambling age thresholds across separate gambling verticals. Rather than limiting higher age restrictions solely to online slot products, Bikker proposed establishing a universal minimum gambling age of 21 across all forms of gambling activity.

If implemented, raising the minimum legal age for gambling and certain forms of credit access to 24 would represent an unprecedented move within Europe, where 18 remains the widely accepted legal threshold.

Sümer is now encouraging fellow municipal officials and political parties throughout the Netherlands to increase pressure on national lawmakers in support of broader regulatory reform aimed at protecting younger generations from debt and gambling-related harm.

By fLEXI tEAM