# Are online casinos legal in the Netherlands? Licences, Cruks and the rules

> 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.

- URL: https://safebet.ai/nl/online-casinos/are-online-casinos-legal/
- Markdown version: https://safebet.ai/nl/online-casinos/are-online-casinos-legal/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)
- Notice: Advertising. SafeBet.ai may be paid by the operators shown when you register through our links. We only link to operators licensed by the Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa), the Dutch gambling regulator. 18+ only. Prediction markets aren’t licensed in the Netherlands, and we don’t link to any.
- Statutory warning: Wat kost gokken jou? Stop op tijd. 18+ (English: What does gambling cost you? Stop in time. 18+)
- Editorial policy and advertiser disclosure: https://safebet.ai/editorial-policy/

## Key takeaways

- Only companies licensed by the Kansspelautoriteit may offer online casino games in the Netherlands: 31 online licence holders, listed with their brands and websites in the Ksa's Kansspelwijzer, on October 23, 2026.
- Offering unlicensed games, promoting them and knowingly playing them are all prohibited under article 1 of the Wet op de kansspelen; the Ksa can fine an illegal operator up to 10% of its turnover.
- Every licensed casino checks Cruks at sign-up and at every login, makes you set deposit, time and balance limits, and must check affordability before your net deposits pass €300 a month (18 to 23) or €700 (24 and over).
- Autoplay is banned, you get a reality check every 30 minutes, no credit is allowed, and bonuses linked to losses, such as cashback, are prohibited.
- The Ksa's record fine for illegal gambling, €37.25 million, went to the company behind Skyhills and Instantcasino in October 2026.

## The short answer

Online casinos are legal in the Netherlands if they hold a licence from the **Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa)**, the Dutch gambling regulator, and you're 18 or over. The rules come from the Wet op de kansspelen, as amended by the Wet kansspelen op afstand, which took effect on April 1, 2021; the legal online market opened on October 1, 2021, with 10 licences. On October 23, 2026, 31 companies held a licence for online games of chance, 30 of them for casino games.

A licence covers casino games against the house, casino games between players such as poker, sports betting and horse-race betting, for at most five years. It never covers a site just because it holds a licence somewhere else: a Curaçao, Malta or Anjouan licence doesn't allow a casino to serve Dutch players. The Ksa lists every licence holder, with its brands and websites, in its [Kansspelwijzer](https://kansspelautoriteit.nl/kansspelwijzer); our [licence check](https://safebet.ai/nl/online-casinos/licence-check/) searches that list and the Ksa's decisions against illegal sites for you.

## What the law prohibits

Article 1 of the Wet op de kansspelen prohibits three things:

- **offering** games of chance without a licence (article 1(1)(a));
- **promoting** participation in unlicensed games (article 1(1)(b)), which also covers affiliate websites that advertise illegal casinos;
- **knowingly playing** an unlicensed game (article 1(1)(c)). The Ksa says this rule is aimed explicitly at players; the maximum penalty is a third-category fine, €11,000 since January 1, 2026.

The Ksa can fine an illegal operator up to €1,100,000 or, if that's more, 10% of its turnover, and intentionally offering unlicensed games is also a crime, punishable by up to two years in prison.

## The rules every licensed casino follows

| Rule | What it means for you | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Age and Cruks | You must be 18, and the casino checks Cruks, the national exclusion register, when you sign up and every time you log in | Wet op de kansspelen art. 31k; Besluit kansspelen op afstand art. 4.12, 4.18 |
| Your own limits | You set limits on deposits, playing time and your balance when you sign up; lowering one works at once, raising one only after a week | Besluit kansspelen op afstand art. 4.14 |
| High deposit limits | Since October 1, 2024, a deposit limit of €150 a month or more (ages 18 to 23) or €350 or more (24 and over) can only be set after contact with trained staff | Regeling kansspelen op afstand art. 3.19d |
| Affordability check | Since October 1, 2024, net deposits above €300 in a calendar month (ages 18 to 23) or €700 (24 and over) trigger an affordability check; without one, the casino must block deposits for the rest of the month | Beleidsregel verantwoord spelen 2024 |
| No autoplay | Every game must be started by you; the Ksa says autoplay is banned in the Netherlands | Regeling kansspelen op afstand art. 3.7, 3.8 |
| Reality checks | Every 30 minutes you're told how long you've been playing, and you're logged out when you reach your time limit | Regeling werving, reclame en verslavingspreventie art. 15, 19 |
| No credit | The casino may not lend you money, and you play from one account linked to one bank account | Besluit kansspelen op afstand art. 4.2, 4.26 |
| Dutch service | Customer service must be free, by phone and online, and available in Dutch | Besluit kansspelen op afstand art. 4.36, 4.38 |

These limits apply per casino: there's no limit across all licensed sites together.

## Bonuses

Licensed casinos may offer bonuses, under strict rules: no bonus while you're playing, none tailored to your playing behaviour, none unless you accept the terms explicitly, and you can always opt out. A casino may not offer you a bonus for a period after it has intervened in your play, and may not aim bonuses at players under 24. Any bonus linked to losses, such as cashback, is prohibited, and so are offers that create urgency. A casino may not make you wager your own deposit before you can withdraw it, unless a bonus is involved. We don't list bonuses on our Dutch pages.

## Advertising

Every gambling ad must carry the warning "Wat kost gokken jou? Stop op tijd. 18+" ("What does gambling cost you? Stop in time. 18+"), compulsory since April 1, 2022. Since July 1, 2023, licensed online casinos may not advertise on TV, on the radio, in print or in public places; online ads are allowed only if at least 95% of the people they reach are 24 or older. Licensed casinos may not use role models, including influencers and streamers, and sports sponsorship has been banned since July 1, 2025.

## Illegal casinos and the Ksa

Sites without a Dutch licence still reach Dutch players: in the second half of 2025, the Ksa estimated, 91% of Dutch online gamblers played only at licensed sites, but only about 53% of the money gambled went to them. The Ksa fines illegal operators, often after first ordering them to stop under penalty payments, and since July 24, 2026 its fining policy starts from €800,000 or 100% of the operator's estimated Dutch gross gaming result, whichever is higher. Recent fines include:

| Company | Sites named by the Ksa | Fine | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| EOD Code SRL | Skyhills, Instantcasino and ten other sites | €37,250,000 | October 22, 2026 |
| Novatech Solutions N.V. | qbet.com and 55bet.com | €24,846,000 | March 10, 2026 |
| Gammix Limited | several online casinos | €19,679,000 | December 15, 2025 |
| GoldWin Limited | westcasino.com | €6,794,000 | October 2, 2025 |
| Starscream Limited | rantcasino.com, allstarzcasino.com, sugarcasino.com | €4,228,000 | January 13, 2026 |

Read our explainer on [Skyhills and the €37.25 million fine](https://safebet.ai/nl/online-casinos/skyhills-casino/), the Ksa's highest fine yet for illegal gambling.

## Getting money back from an illegal casino

For a few years, Dutch courts disagreed on whether players could reclaim their losses from unlicensed casinos because the contract was void. On July 3, 2026, the Hoge Raad (the Dutch Supreme Court) settled it in a preliminary ruling: contracts with unlicensed online operators are **not void or voidable** under article 3:40 of the Civil Code (ECLI:NL:HR:2026:1159). Claims based on a defect of consent, such as error, or on tort remain possible in some circumstances, but their chances depend on the case.

## The market

In the second half of 2025, licensed online gambling in the Netherlands generated €602 million of gross gaming result, about €100 million a month and some 18% less than in 2024. About 500,000 people played each month, on 1.38 million accounts, according to the Ksa's monitoring report of April 16, 2026.

## How to check a casino

1. **Look it up in the Kansspelwijzer.** The company must be listed, and the exact website you use must be one the Ksa lists for it: a brand's .com site isn't covered by its Dutch licence.
2. **Watch for warning signs.** No age check before you can play, no Cruks check, or deposits in crypto all mean a site isn't playing by Dutch rules.
3. **Use our check.** Our [licence check](https://safebet.ai/nl/online-casinos/licence-check/) covers every licensed website and the illegal sites the Ksa has acted against.

Our [ranking of the best online casinos in the Netherlands](https://safebet.ai/nl/online-casinos/) compares licensed casinos on payouts, games, apps and support.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is it legal to play at online casinos in the Netherlands?

Yes, at casinos licensed by the Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa), if you're 18 or over. The Ksa lists every licensed company with its brands and websites in its Kansspelwijzer. Check any site with our [licence check](https://safebet.ai/nl/online-casinos/licence-check/).

### Is it illegal to play at a casino without a Dutch licence?

Yes, if you know it has no licence: article 1(1)(c) of the Wet op de kansspelen prohibits using an unlicensed game knowingly, and the Ksa says this rule is aimed explicitly at players. The maximum penalty is a third-category fine, €11,000 since January 1, 2026.

### Is a Curaçao, Malta or Anjouan licence enough to play legally in the Netherlands?

No. Only a licence from the Kansspelautoriteit allows a site to offer online gambling to people in the Netherlands, whatever other licences it holds.

### What is the deposit limit at Dutch online casinos?

You set your own deposit, time and balance limits when you sign up; raising a limit only takes effect after a week. Since October 1, 2024, a deposit limit of €150 a month or more (ages 18 to 23) or €350 or more (24 and over) needs contact with trained staff first, and net deposits above €300 or €700 a month trigger an affordability check, or a block on deposits for the rest of the month.

### Can I get my money back from an illegal casino?

Not on the grounds that the contract was void: on July 3, 2026 the Hoge Raad, the Dutch Supreme Court, ruled that contracts with unlicensed online operators aren't void or voidable under article 3:40 of the Civil Code. Claims based on tort or on a defect of consent remain possible in some circumstances.

### Do I pay tax on casino winnings in the Netherlands?

Not on winnings from a licensed site: the operator pays the gambling tax, 37.8% of its gross gaming result in 2026. Win at a site without a Dutch licence, though, and you must declare it yourself. See [gambling taxes in the Netherlands](https://safebet.ai/nl/guides/gambling-taxes-netherlands/).

## Sources

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