The Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) said its 2026 enforcement strategy will extend oversight to companies that help unlicensed gambling sites reach Dutch players. The regulator said it will target the wider ecosystem that supports offshore operators. Next reported that the agenda calls for increased oversight of payment providers, hosting companies, social media platforms and other B2B suppliers that enable access to unlicensed sites.
Under the revised approach, the KSA will place more emphasis on preventing access to illegal services rather than focusing only on fining individual operators. The authority described the problem in plain terms: “The illegal market is more than just illegal gambling websites.”
New focus on ecosystem and dual-use suppliers
The KSA said its plan includes closer cooperation with foreign regulators that face the same issues. It also aims for a higher level of engagement with private companies that supply services to online gambling businesses. The agenda does not list specific penalties for suppliers yet. The KSA did indicate the approach will be strict toward companies that serve both licensed and unlicensed markets, suggesting enforcement and compliance expectations will rise for dual-use vendors.
The authority highlighted channelization figures to explain the shift. The KSA said almost 90% of Dutch gamblers place bets with legally operating providers, but monitoring released in October 2025 estimated the channelization rate had fallen to around 49 percent. That report marked the first time since online gambling was legalized in 2021 that the illegal online market was larger than the licensed sector.
The KSA said the strategy will run through 2026 and is intended to reduce the availability of illicit gambling channels by disrupting the commercial and technical networks that keep offshore brands accessible in the Netherlands.
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