Dutch Gambling Authority Issues First Eight Five-Year Follow-Up Licences

The Dutch Gambling Authority (Kansspelautoriteit, KSA) has issued the first eight follow-up licences to online gambling operators, allowing them to continue operating in the Netherlands for another five years. The licences will run from October 1, 2026 until September 30, 2031, following the expiry of the first licences issued when the Dutch online gambling market was opened in 2021.

The eight operators receiving follow-up licences are TOTO Online B.V., operating TOTO and Winnitt; Holland Casino N.V., operating Holland Casino Online; Play North Limited, operating Kansino; FPO Nederland B.V., operating FairPlay Casino; Bingoal Nederland B.V., operating Bingoal; Hillside (New Media Malta) Plc, operating Bet365; NSUS Malta Limited, operating GG Poker; and Betent B.V., operating Betcity.

All eight companies were already licensed operators in the Netherlands. The first batch of follow-up decisions therefore does not include a new entrant to the Dutch online gambling market. The original licensing round involved 10 operators, while LiveScore Bet and Tombola subsequently left the Dutch market in 2024.

The 2026 renewal process represents the first time that Dutch online gambling licences have reached the end of their initial five-year term. The original licences were deliberately issued for a limited period, allowing the KSA to take account of its regulatory experience with operators when assessing applications for continued market access.

The follow-up licensing process also introduced additional scrutiny of operators' compliance histories. Under the revised policy rules that took effect on January 1, 2026, applicants that had committed regulatory violations during the preceding five years were required to explain what corrective measures they had taken and how they intended to prevent similar violations from recurring. The KSA can refuse a licence or impose additional conditions and restrictions where it considers the applicant's explanation insufficient.

The KSA said the eight operators granted licences had satisfied the requirements for continued operation. At the same time, several applicants received additional points for attention following the regulator's assessment, requiring further focus on particular compliance matters. The KSA did not identify which operators received those additional points.

The revised licensing framework introduced several requirements applicable to applicants for Dutch remote gambling licences. Applicants must provide information explaining how they will notify the KSA in a timely manner about significant changes to their policies and business operations. They must also submit an exit plan explaining how their gambling offering would be wound down if the licence were to expire or otherwise cease to be valid.

The exit-plan requirement applies to both new applicants and existing operators seeking a follow-up licence. The plan is intended to address an orderly withdrawal from the Dutch market, including circumstances in which an operator does not receive another licence, loses its licence or voluntarily decides to leave the market during the licence period.

The revised rules also introduced additional requirements concerning anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing. Applicants are required to submit a risk analysis under the Dutch Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act, known as the Wwft. The KSA's revised policy states that this analysis forms part of the licensing assessment.

Reliability is another area in which the rules were strengthened. Under the revised framework, an applicant's reliability may be considered not to be beyond doubt where, at the time of the application, the applicant has failed to comply with certain final or immediately enforceable judgments of a Dutch court. Such circumstances can provide grounds for refusing a licence.

Existing operators applying for a follow-up licence were subject to additional reassessments beyond the requirements applicable to new applicants. These included reviews of their policies for preventing gambling addiction and their recruitment and advertising policies. The KSA also required another integration test for the control database used within the Dutch gambling regulatory framework.

Compliance during the first five years of the regulated market consequently became an explicit part of the renewal assessment. Operators that had previously breached regulatory requirements were required to demonstrate how those breaches had been addressed and what measures had been introduced to prevent recurrence.

The approach was also relevant to operators that had received regulatory enforcement during the initial licensing period. One of the operators receiving a follow-up licence, TOTO Online B.V., was reported in June 2026 in connection with a breach involving the Dutch prohibition on the use of role models in gambling advertising. TOTO had previously been fined in 2022 over gambling advertising that the KSA determined had been directed at young people.

The KSA's renewal decisions therefore do not amount to automatic extensions of the original licences. Operators were required to submit new applications and undergo another regulatory assessment, with the KSA considering both the requirements applicable to all applicants and the additional elements applicable to existing licence holders seeking continued authorisation.

The first eight decisions provide the initial results of that five-year review process. The remaining decisions will determine which other operators from the original Dutch online gambling market continue after the September 30, 2026 expiry date of the first licences.

For the eight operators already approved, the new licences provide authorisation to continue offering online gambling services in the Netherlands from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2031. Their continued operation will remain subject to the Dutch regulatory framework and the conditions attached to their respective licences.

By fLEXI tEAM