# Guides: online casinos, sports betting and prediction markets in the Netherlands

- URL: https://safebet.ai/nl/guides/
- Markdown version: https://safebet.ai/nl/guides/index.html.md
- Last updated: 2026-10-23 (re-checked when an operator changes its terms or a regulator or court acts)
- Author: SafeBet.ai Research Team (SafeBet.ai)
- Editorial policy and advertiser disclosure: https://safebet.ai/editorial-policy/

## Online casinos

- [Are online casinos legal in the Netherlands? Licences, Cruks and the rules](https://safebet.ai/nl/online-casinos/are-online-casinos-legal/): Yes, but only at companies licensed by the Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa), and only for players 18 and over. Since the Wet kansspelen op afstand took effect on April 1, 2021, the Ksa licenses online casino games, poker and betting: 31 companies held an online licence on October 23, 2026, each listed with its websites in the Ksa's Kansspelwijzer. Every licensed casino must check Cruks, the national exclusion register, make you set limits and run an affordability check before your net deposits pass €300 a month (ages 18 to 23) or €700 (24 and over). Casinos without a Dutch licence are illegal, and the Ksa fines them heavily.
- [Skyhills Casino: is it legal in the Netherlands, and what does the €37 million fine mean?](https://safebet.ai/nl/online-casinos/skyhills-casino/): No, Skyhills isn't legal in the Netherlands: it has no licence from the Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa). On October 22, 2026 the Ksa published a €37,250,000 fine on EOD Code SRL, the company it says runs Skyhills, Instantcasino and ten other sites, for offering gambling to Dutch players without a licence: its highest fine yet for illegal gambling, though it can still be challenged. Since around September 2026, skyhills.com no longer offers games: it says Skyhills is no longer available and points visitors to other casinos.
- [How we rank online casinos in the Netherlands](https://safebet.ai/nl/online-casinos/how-we-rank/): We only rank casinos licensed by the Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa), at the websites its list of licence holders names. Each is scored from 0 to 10 on six weighted criteria, licensing and safety, games, payments and payouts, app and experience, responsible gambling, and support, and the ranking follows the overall scores. Ksa fines, instructions and warnings lower the licensing score, we don’t list or score bonuses, and we never link to an unlicensed site.

## Sports betting

- [Is sports betting legal in the Netherlands? What you can bet on, and the rules](https://safebet.ai/nl/sports-betting/is-sports-betting-legal/): Yes, with a bookmaker licensed by the Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa), if you're 18 or over: 25 companies held an online sports betting licence on October 23, 2026. Licensed bookmakers may only take bets on the result of, or events during, matches in sports recognised by NOC*NSF, and on horse and trotting races. Bets on youth and under-21 matches, amateur competitions, yellow cards, corners, own goals and other easily manipulated events are banned, and so are bets on elections, transfers and award votes.
- [How we rank betting sites in the Netherlands](https://safebet.ai/nl/sports-betting/how-we-rank/): We only rank sportsbooks licensed by the Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa), on the websites its Kansspelwijzer lists. Each is scored from 0 to 10 on six weighted criteria, licensing and safety, markets and features, odds and limits, payments and payouts, app and experience, and support and responsible gambling, and the ranking follows the overall scores. Fines, binding instructions and warnings from the Ksa lower the licensing score; we judge odds on what each bookmaker publishes, because their terms forbid automated odds collection; and we don't score bonuses.

## Taxes, safety & more

- [Are prediction markets legal in the Netherlands?](https://safebet.ai/nl/guides/are-prediction-markets-legal-in-the-netherlands/): No. A Dutch online gambling licence only covers casino games, bets on sports and bets on horse and trotting races, so bets on elections, politics or other events can't be offered legally, not even by licensed operators. The Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa) treats prediction markets as gambling: in January 2026 it ordered Polymarket to stop serving Dutch players under penalty payments, and later decided to collect €420,000 after Polymarket broke the order.
- [Is Polymarket legal in the Netherlands?](https://safebet.ai/nl/guides/is-polymarket-legal-in-the-netherlands/): No. Polymarket has no licence from the Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa), and Dutch licences don't cover bets on elections or other events anyway. On January 20, 2026 the Ksa ordered Adventure One QSS Inc., which runs Polymarket, to stop offering bets to Dutch players, under penalty payments of €420,000 a week up to €840,000. Polymarket broke the order and forfeited €420,000, which the Ksa decided to collect in May 2026, and its objection was rejected on June 23, 2026.
- [Gambling taxes in the Netherlands: do you pay tax on winnings?](https://safebet.ai/nl/guides/gambling-taxes-netherlands/): If you play at a site licensed by the Kansspelautoriteit, you pay no tax on your winnings and don't need to file anything: the operator pays the Dutch gambling tax, kansspelbelasting, on its gross gaming result, at 37.8% in 2026. If you play at an online site without a Dutch licence, wherever it's based, you must file a return yourself for every calendar month in which you won more than you staked, and pay 37.8% of the difference.
- [Where to get help for gambling problems in the Netherlands](https://safebet.ai/nl/guides/gambling-help-netherlands/): Call OpenOverGokken, the Kansspelautoriteit's help service, free and anonymously on 0800 24 000 22, day and night; chat and WhatsApp are open from 8 a.m. to midnight. To block yourself from every licensed gambling site, arcade and casino in the Netherlands at once, register in Cruks with your DigiD at cruksregister.nl, for at least 6 months and up to 99 years; you can't end it early.