Is sports betting legal in the Netherlands? What you can bet on, and the rules

The short answer

Online sports betting is legal in the Netherlands with a bookmaker licensed by the Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa), if you’re 18 or over. On October 23, 2026, 25 companies held an online sports betting licence and nine a licence for horse-race betting, each listed with its websites in the Ksa’s Kansspelwijzer. A bookmaker without a Dutch licence may not take bets from people in the Netherlands, whatever licence it holds elsewhere. Our licence check searches the Ksa’s list for you.

What licensed bookmakers may offer

A Dutch online licence covers bets on events during a sports match or on its result, and bets on horse and trotting races. The match has to be in organised sport recognised by NOC*NSF, the Dutch sports federation, or a comparable international body. Spread betting, where you can lose more than your stake, isn’t allowed. Bets on Dutch horse races carry a levy: the bookmaker passes 10% of its gross gaming result on them to the Dutch racing sector.

The bets that are banned

To protect sport against match-fixing, Dutch rules ban bets on:

• youth matches, and competitions or matches for players under 21 or younger age groups;
• matches in which only unpaid players take part, and matches whose course isn’t objectively recorded;
• negative or easily manipulated events, such as a disciplinary measure or a player dropping out; the banned list was drawn up after consulting NOC*NSF, the KNVB and other Dutch sports bodies;
• matches in countries where betting on them isn’t allowed because of the risk of manipulation.

The Ksa has acted against licensed bookmakers over these rules, which shows what they mean in practice:

Cup competitions involving amateur clubs, such as the TOTO KNVB Beker, come with strict rules: the Ksa expects a match-fixing risk analysis for each match.

Elections, transfers and other events

A sports betting licence only covers sport. On March 26, 2026 the Ksa reminded bookmakers that bets on award votes decided by a jury or panel, such as an MVP award, fall outside it, and so do bets on “political elections or transfers of athletes”. Prediction markets such as Polymarket, which offer bets on elections and other events, aren’t licensed: the Ksa ordered Polymarket to stop serving Dutch players in January 2026. See are prediction markets legal in the Netherlands?

Advertising and sponsorship

• No live betting ads. Bookmakers may not tempt viewers of a match to bet on it while it’s on, whether by social media post, push notification or email.
• No untargeted ads. Since July 1, 2023, licensed bookmakers may not advertise on TV, on the radio, in print or in public places, and online ads must reach an audience of at least 95% people aged 24 or over.
• No sports sponsorship. Since July 1, 2025, online gambling companies may not sponsor athletes, teams, clubs, competitions or shirts, not even through intermediaries such as news or sports sites.
• No “share your bet”. The Ksa said on February 4, 2026 that features letting players share their bets aren’t allowed.

Your protections at a licensed bookmaker

The same protections apply as at licensed casinos: a Cruks check at sign-up and every login, your own deposit, time and balance limits, and an affordability check before your net deposits pass €300 a month (ages 18 to 23) or €700 (24 and over). A bookmaker may not make you wager your own deposit before you can withdraw it, unless a bonus is involved, and must always offer customer service in Dutch. Our guide to online casino law in the Netherlands covers these rules in full.

What the Ksa has fined bookmakers for

Licensed doesn’t mean flawless. The Ksa’s biggest actions against licensed betting companies include a €4,000,000 fine for Unibet’s operator for failing its duty of care (published December 1, 2025, under appeal), €2,650,000 for BetCity’s operator for not protecting young adults (published October 28, 2025, under appeal), €400,000 for Unibet’s operator for letting in players registered in Cruks (2024), and a binding instruction for bet365’s operator to improve its affordability checks (imposed November 2025, announced January 2026). We take these records into account in our ranking of the best betting sites in the Netherlands.

Taxes

Bettors pay no tax on winnings from a licensed bookmaker: the bookmaker pays the gambling tax, 37.8% of its gross gaming result in 2026. Winnings from a site without a Dutch licence must be declared. See gambling taxes in the Netherlands.

How to check a betting site

1. Look it up in the Kansspelwijzer. The company must hold a sports betting licence, and the exact website you use must be listed for it.
2. Watch the bet menu. A bookmaker offering bets on yellow cards, corners, under-21 matches or elections isn’t playing by Dutch rules.
3. Use our check. Our licence check covers every licensed website and the illegal sites the Ksa has acted against.