bet365 Among KSA Licence Renewals, but Many Questions Remain

The Dutch Gambling Authority, known as the KSA, has started confirming a new round of five-year online gambling licences as the market approaches the end of its first licensing cycle. The renewals arrive five years after the regulated online market opened on October 1, 2021, and they include several of the best-known brands currently active in the country. Hillside (New Media Malta) Plc, the company behind bet365, is among the operators to receive a new term.

A new licensing cycle begins in the Netherlands

The same is true for TOTO Online BV, Holland Casino NV, Play North Limited, FPO Nederland BV, Bingoal Nederland BV, NSUS Malta Limited and Betent BV. The KSA also listed a new entrant among the latest group. The regulator said the companies that received renewed licences had satisfied the requirements of the reapplication process. On the surface, that creates a degree of continuity. Underneath it, however, the Dutch market is entering another period of uncertainty as political pressure, tax changes and concern about unlicensed gambling continue to build.

Renewal did not mean the previous five years were ignored

The KSA made clear that renewal was not treated as a simple administrative extension. Because these are second-cycle licences for a market that only opened in 2021, the regulator reviewed the conduct of operators during the first five-year period. Past violations were part of that assessment. Providers were asked to explain what they had done to correct identified problems and how they intended to stop the same issues from happening again. The KSA said several operators received additional points for attention as a result. That detail matters because it shows the licence process is being used not only to decide whether a company can remain in the market, but also to carry regulatory history forward into the next term. An operator may keep its licence while still being expected to address specific weaknesses. In practical terms, the new licences provide continuity for the brands involved, but they do not erase the compliance record that has developed since the market opened.

The confirmed licence holders

The latest list covers a mix of state-linked, international and locally familiar brands. TOTO Online BV operates TOTO and Winnitt, while Holland Casino NV runs Holland Casino Online. Play North Limited is associated with Kansino, FPO Nederland BV with FairPlay Casino and Bingoal Nederland BV with Bingoal. Hillside (New Media Malta) Plc brings bet365 into the renewed group, NSUS Malta Limited covers GG Poker and Betent BV operates Betcity. The KSA also referred to a new entrant without identifying it in the source material. Taken together, the names show that the second licensing cycle is not limited to one type of operator. Sports betting, casino and poker brands are all represented. The regulator’s confirmation therefore provides a useful snapshot of the legal market at the point when the Netherlands is debating whether the current framework should become more restrictive. The brands have secured another five-year term, yet the rules under which that term will operate could continue to change.

Player-protection rules have already tightened

Operators have already had to adapt to significant policy changes since the 2021 opening. One of the most visible came in 2024, when the KSA introduced deposit limits of EUR700, with a lower EUR300 threshold for players aged 18 to 24. The source material presents those limits as part of a broader shift toward stronger player protection. At the same time, the financial burden on licensed operators has increased. Gambling tax on gross gaming revenue now stands at 37.8%, compared with 30.5% in 2024. Those measures affect different parts of the operator model: deposit controls shape how customers can fund gambling accounts, while higher tax reduces the share of gross gaming revenue that remains with the licensed business. The combination is important when assessing the renewed licences. The companies are not simply returning to the same market conditions they entered five years ago. They are moving into a more tightly controlled and more heavily taxed environment.

More reforms are still being discussed

The current rules may not be the end of the tightening cycle. The source lists several proposals that remain under consideration, including larger penalties for illegal activity, a ban on the use of credit cards for gambling and a possible limit on the number of licensees. Advertising is another major area of debate. One proposal would prohibit gambling advertising except when a user directly searches for an operator or visits the provider’s own website. If adopted, that would further reduce the visibility of licensed brands outside the places where consumers are already looking for them. The political discussion also includes more fundamental opposition to online gambling. During a recent committee meeting in the House of Representatives, members of the SGCP and the Christian Democratic Appeal called for a complete prohibition on online gambling. The fact that licence renewals are being issued while lawmakers are debating restrictions this broad explains why the next five years are difficult to map with confidence.

The black market is becoming the central policy problem

At the same time that legal operators face tighter controls, the KSA is warning about the scale of unlicensed gambling. Channelisation is estimated at around 50%, meaning the source describes a market in which roughly one euro is now spent with illegal operators for every euro spent in the regulated sector. That estimate changes the way the policy debate looks. Stronger restrictions on licensed companies may improve protection inside the regulated market, but they do not automatically prevent consumers from using sites outside it. This is the tension running through many of the current proposals. The legal sector is being asked to operate under higher taxes, deposit limits and potentially reduced advertising, while the regulator is also trying to stop unlicensed competitors that are not following the same framework. For the KSA, preserving a viable legal channel is therefore linked directly to player protection rather than being a separate commercial issue.

KSA chair calls for a broader response

Michael Groothuizen, Chair of the KSA’s Executive Board, has argued that a national regulator cannot solve the illegal-market problem by itself. His warning is that the authorities are dealing with international criminal networks while relying on tools that are largely national in scope. The regulator has estimated that the Dutch government loses around EUR500 million in tax revenue each year because of the black market. The KSA’s response is increasingly focused on the infrastructure that makes illegal gambling possible, including advertising channels and payment providers connected with unlicensed operators. That is a different approach from concentrating only on the gambling website itself. If access to payments or promotion can be disrupted, the regulator may be able to make illegal services more difficult to operate or reach. The source also says Minister for Legal Protection Claudia Van Bruggen has promised clearer legal rules around when payment service providers have facilitated a legal offering, together with greater international cooperation.

Why licence renewal does not settle the market outlook

For bet365 and the other renewed operators, the immediate result is clear: they have secured another five-year licence term. What remains unclear is the market they will be operating in by the end of that period. Tax has already risen sharply, deposit rules have changed, advertising may be restricted further and some political parties want online gambling prohibited altogether. At the same time, the KSA is openly warning that the illegal sector is large enough to rival the regulated one. Those forces can pull policy in different directions. Measures designed to reduce gambling harm can also change the competitive balance between licensed and unlicensed sites. The regulator therefore has to judge not only whether individual operators comply with the rules, but whether the overall framework keeps enough gambling activity inside a system where supervision is possible. The latest renewals are important, yet they are only one part of a much larger policy question.

The second cycle will be judged on more than licensing

The first five years of Dutch online gambling regulation created a licensed market and gave the KSA a record of how individual companies behaved within it. The second cycle starts with more information, but also with more pressure. Renewal decisions now incorporate earlier violations and remediation, while lawmakers are considering new restrictions that could materially alter customer acquisition and payment behaviour. The KSA is simultaneously trying to reduce the reach of illegal operators and the services that support them. For the renewed companies, compliance is therefore likely to remain an ongoing process rather than a box checked at the start of a five-year term. The brands on the new list have passed the reapplication stage. The more difficult question is whether the Netherlands can strengthen protection without pushing a larger share of activity toward operators that sit outside the regulated framework. That is the unresolved issue behind what otherwise looks like a straightforward round of licence renewals.

What to watch during the new five-year term

The next stage of the Dutch market will therefore be shaped by several developments that are already visible in the source. More renewal decisions may clarify the final shape of the licensed sector. Political debate will determine whether credit-card restrictions, licence caps or much tighter advertising rules move forward. The KSA will also have to show whether targeting payment and advertising infrastructure can reduce the reach of illegal operators without weakening the regulated channel further. For the companies already renewed, the practical task is to operate under the current rules while preparing for another round of policy change. The fact that the regulator reviewed past violations during reapplication also means compliance history will continue to matter. A five-year licence gives legal certainty to operate, but it does not create a five-year pause in supervision. The Dutch market is entering its second cycle with more established brands, more regulatory experience and, at the same time, a much more difficult argument about how much restriction the legal sector can absorb.