16-12-2022
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The news is full of it these days. The busy Dutch casino market has a lot to offer, not only for the Dutch, but also for the big foreign companies that like to invest in our players to significantly increase their turnover. It has been a while since the first licenses were issued and online gambling became legal for the first time in the Netherlands. This is a good time to take stock. What is the current market situation and what do analysts expect from the Dutch gaming market in the near future?
Casinos with a license and the gambling authority’s strict guidelines
The number of legal casinos in the Netherlands can no longer be counted on two hands. With the latest additions, we are at the time of writing eleven legal online casinos in the Netherlands with several online slots, with the addition of Unibet in particular causing quite a stir. However, the exclusion after breaking the rules happened in the way that the Gambling Authority announced in advance. Unibet has served the penalty period and can now also focus on the Dutch.
In the current casino market in the Netherlands, it is primarily about the Gaming Authority. This Dutch regulator is lord and master of the market. Not only are all regulations drawn up by the KSA itself (whether in consultation with other governments or agencies), compliance is also monitored by the KSA. In addition, this is the only body that can issue licenses and where players can go with their complaints. More about KSA’s mission and tasks can be found on the Gambling Authority’s website.
The future: more legal providers and even more regulations from the KSA
Looking at the current situation and developments, the chances are very high that we will see more new providers on the market in 2023. It is known that the number of applications and registrations for a license application was much higher than the number of providers that in currently has a license. It is also expected that the KSA will draw up even stricter rules, especially regarding the casinos’ active duty of care. Several casinos already require the player to set player limits during registration. It is very possible that this will soon become mandatory for all providers with a license.
It is also expected that there will be much more regulation regarding promotion and advertising. To what extent it will work is yet to be seen. The average gambler will still look for a casino via the Internet, and it is precisely there that it is hardly possible to go through all the promotion sites to see if everyone is following the rules.
Attention to smaller developers
When we look at the gaming websites themselves, it is striking that more and more licensed casinos are going for the widest possible selection. Not only in terms of slots online, but also all other games, up to complete live casino shows with hosts and big prizes to be won. What is particularly striking, however, is that the smaller developers appear in many more places. It is no longer about the big names like Play ‘n Go, NetEnt, Microgaming and Yggdrasil, but also about local, smaller developers. A good sign for the gambling enthusiast because this increases the number of unique and fun slots in the legal casinos. If you want to see for yourself, remember that you can try all these slots for free in demo mode. You don’t even need a deposit for that.
Cryptocurrency, a difficult point for the Netherlands and Malta?
A final point that we should definitely address in relation to the future of the Dutch casino market is deposits with cryptocurrencies. This is more and more common in online casinos, but can never be offered by casinos with a license from the Netherlands or Malta, as both licensors prohibit this option to deposit. Malta is already working on a legal framework and regulations, but the KSA remains silent at the moment. It is expected that KSA will wait for Malta to see what can be done about this.