Open licensing, split by function
Alderney
A Channel Island jurisdiction whose licence separates the customer relationship from the platform operation.
Licensed online casino
Netherlands
A licensed market since October 2021, now one of the most advertising-restricted in Europe.
| Product | Position | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| Online casino | Licensed | Commercial operators can be licensed to offer this product to local customers. |
| Sports betting | Licensed | Commercial operators can be licensed to offer this product to local customers. |
| Online poker | Licensed | Commercial operators can be licensed to offer this product to local customers. |
| Lottery | Licensed | Commercial operators can be licensed to offer this product to local customers. |
How the market works
The Dutch market opened on 1 October 2021 after a decade in which the regulator could only enforce. Operators that had previously served Dutch customers were required to observe a cooling-off period before being licensed, so the first licence round deliberately excluded some of the largest incumbents for a time.
Since opening, the Netherlands has moved faster than any other European market on restriction. Untargeted advertising for online gambling has been prohibited, sponsorship arrangements have been wound down, and the gambling tax rate has been raised in steps, which has reduced the number of licensees as smaller operators have withdrawn. Deposit and loss limits, and a duty on operators to intervene when a customer's play suggests harm, have also been tightened.
Cruks, the central exclusion register, is broader than most: entry can be requested by the customer, by someone close to them, or imposed by the regulator. The Dutch case is the standard illustration of a market where the licensing framework is settled and the commercial terms are still moving.
Who regulates it
Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), based in The Hague and operating under Remote Gambling Act (Koa). The Dutch regulator, which opened a licensed online market in October 2021 after a long enforcement-only period.
Licence types issued
- Remote gambling licence (casino, betting, poker)
- Land-based casino
- Lottery
Questions about Netherlands
Other markets in Europe
Online licence tied to a land-based licence
Belgium
Online licences exist only as supplements to land-based licences, and advertising is prohibited.
Tied to land-based online casino
Open licensing per game type
Czechia
A licensed market with a mandatory central exclusion register that covers more than self-exclusion.
Licensed online casino
Open licensing
Denmark
An early licensing regime whose certification programme and exclusion register were widely copied.
Licensed online casino
Monopoly, with licensing legislated for 2027
Finland
One of Europe's last gambling monopolies, legislated to open to licensed competition from 2027.
State monopoly online casino
Open licensing, three verticals only
France
The largest European economy with no legal online casino: only betting, horse racing and poker can be licensed.
Prohibited online casino
Background reading
Legal and compliance
What a gaming licence actually covers
A licence is not a badge of quality and it is not valid everywhere. What it authorises, who it binds, and why one company often holds a dozen.
Legal and compliance
How gambling is taxed, and why the base matters
A tax on stakes and a tax on gross gaming revenue can carry the same headline number and produce completely different businesses.
Legal and compliance
How a company enters a new market
The sequence from legal assessment to launch, and the parts that routinely take longer than anyone plans for.
Legal and compliance
What grey and black markets actually mean
The industry uses three words for the legal status of a market and rarely defines them. Here is what each one means in practice.