Where to get help for gambling problems in the Netherlands

Talk to someone now

OpenOverGokken is the Kansspelautoriteit’s information and help service for anyone who wants to cut down or stop gambling, and for the people around them.

• Call free on 0800 24 000 22, day and night, 24/7.
• Chat or WhatsApp between 8 a.m. and midnight.
• It’s free and anonymous. Its staff help you straight away and can refer you to help near you, the Dutch government says.

OpenOverGokken replaced Loket Kansspel, the Ksa’s earlier help line: the old Loket Kansspel website now forwards to openovergokken.nl. Its site also has a self-test, a self-help module and a step-by-step plan for gambling debts.

Take a gambling stop with Cruks

Cruks (Centraal Register Uitsluiting Kansspelen) is the national exclusion register, kept by the Kansspelautoriteit.

• How: log in with your DigiD at cruksregister.nl and choose how long your stop lasts.
• How long: at least 6 months and at most 99 years; people choose 15 years on average, the register says. You can’t end or cancel the stop during the period you chose.
• Where it works: at every gambling site, arcade and casino with a Dutch licence. Licensed online sites must check Cruks when you sign up and every time you log in.
• Where it doesn’t: at sites without a Dutch licence, which don’t check it. That’s one reason they’re illegal.

About 118,000 people were registered in Cruks in June 2026, the Ksa said; on January 30, 2026 the count was 111,534.

Ask for a gambling stop for someone else

If someone close to you gambles in a way that causes demonstrable harm, and other help hasn’t worked, you can ask the Kansspelautoriteit to register them in Cruks. Family members, friends, employers, curators and financial administrators (bewindvoerders) can apply, online at cruksregister.nl.

• The player is told who applied and gets 14 days to respond.
• The Ksa asks external gambling-addiction experts for advice before deciding.
• If it agrees, the stop starts after at least 6 weeks and lasts 6 months. A stop the player takes themselves starts at once.

Self-help groups and treatment

OpenOverGokken’s help finder lists, among others:

There’s also an online self-help module at zelfhulpgokken.nl, linked from OpenOverGokken.

Block gambling sites on your devices

Cruks doesn’t reach sites without a Dutch licence. Blocking software such as BetBlocker, Betfilter or Gamban, which OpenOverGokken lists on its gambling-stop page, can block gambling sites on your phone and computer as an extra layer.