Gambling in the Netherlands is allowed through licensed operators. However, searches online for illegal providers have increased after the introduction of a new consumer law aimed at safer gambling. We discuss this in the article below.  

A recent report published by the Quality Mark Responsible Affiliates (KVA) scheme in the Netherlands has noted an increase in domain names that advertise themselves as no-limit casinos. This was after the introduction of deposit limits at casinos in the country in October. If the Netherlands wants to continue refining its laws and approach, while ensuring responsible gambling, it must rectify this. But what can they learn from the mistake? 

What are Deposit Limits?

Before the introduction of deposit limits, there had been around 172,576 searches for these domains per month. This rose to 294,255 the month after and increased until it passed the one million mark on March 5th. More worryingly, the domains serving these searches also increased, showing that the operators serving them are expanding and becoming more prevalent.  

In the Netherlands, these casinos are known as “casinos without Cruks”. This means a casino that does not limit how much money a player can put into it. Deposit limits are an amount that is set, often voluntarily, of which you can not put more in during a given period. This is usually 24 hours, a week, or a month.  

There are also no deposit casinos available. These are the ones that let people play games without even making any transactions. Finding a no deposit bonus on registration in the Netherlands has become harder, but these operators are available. They are often a great way for people to try out casinos and games but are not related to casinos without limits.

The idea was an initiative for safe gambling. However, many people worry about how effective it actually is at preventing the issue. It is believed many people simply go elsewhere, and in many cases are driven to unregulated, offshore casinos. As these casinos do not comply with regulations, there is a worry that some of them may take advantage, have lax security, or unfair practices.  

The Netherlands Gambling Authority

The Netherlands Gambling Authority is proactive in rooting out these operators and fining them where it deems fit. A 900,000 euro fine was recently given to Sarah Eternal SRL, an operator based in Costa Rica. The company operates the Casinosky website. It had several features banned in the Netherlands, including autoplay, and inactivity fees, had no age verification system, and allowed users to pay in cryptocurrency. It had been issued a conditional penalty in the past.  

This followed an inquiry into Analyse Master, a sports betting tip platform. The website was primarily designed to provide football insights. However, it had been referring people to gambling operators. This is prohibited under Dutch law. Two operators were under investigation but ended their association with the website and were found to have not violated any laws.  

What Is the KVA?

Legal firm XY Solutions set up the Kansspelautoriteit, also known as the KVA. This is the advisory board for gambling affiliate sites’ compliance with Dutch regulations. An affiliate site is a place that reviews and recommends online operators based on several different factors. When consumers follow a link and sign up, they are paid a small fee or percentage. Thus, the KVA is in place to ensure these affiliates are not recommending casinos that operate outside the law. 

The framework for this has been made by the Quality Mark Responsible Affiliates (QMRA), who also perform a similar function. Both of these groups monitor traffic to affiliate sites along with searches on popular engines. This led the KVA to request a considered approach, as further restrictions, like this, could cause more harm than good.  

The Introduction of Deposits 

Several measures were brought into play in October by the KVA, some of which have had mixed results. One of these capped deposits per month at €700, reduced to €300 if the player is between 18 to 25. These can only be adjusted if a player is willing to provide proof of their income to the operator. 

Initially, it found that the number of people who lost 1000 euros in a calendar month had fallen to 1% from 4%. However, it was later realized that this may be because of money being lost on legal sites. This found that half of the money lost is done on illegal sites.  

In the United Kingdom, the Gambling Commission is looking into ways to achieve clarity and consistency with setting deposits, showing they are a practice still being refined. This is regarding rules that will come into effect on 31 October 2025, in which more control over setting them will be given to the consumer.  

Typically, in the United Kingdom, these have been set as a static limit. However, operators began to provide net deposit limits which also include withdrawals. For example, if a player has a limit of £20 a week, deposits this but withdraws £10, the limit then rises to £30. Moves of this type are also something that the KVA must look at and possibly enforce, should they want to get their approach to deposit limits perfected.