The Dutch Gambling Authority, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has just announced its supervisory agenda for 2026. Stronger player protection measures are at the heart of the program. The regulator said it will prioritise protecting vulnerable players, improving advertising compliance, and tightening operators’ duty of care. The announcement came as the KSA revealed that it has been coordinating with banks and payment systems for over a decade to investigate unlicensed online gambling operators.
KSA Prioritises Player Protection, Reveals Undercover Operation to Counter Unregulated Gambling: Key Insights
- KSA’s 2026 supervisory agenda emphasises player protection through tighter duty of care rules, stricter advertising oversight, and measures to protect vulnerable groups. It plans to increase enforcement efforts through collaborations with industry stakeholders and social media platforms.
- The agenda identifies five enforcement themes: illegal gambling, protecting vulnerable players, duty of care compliance, advertising compliance, and anti-money laundering supervision under the Wwft, the Dutch Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act.
- Newly disclosed public records show the KSA spent years seeking transaction data from banks and payment providers to track unlicensed online gambling activity, often through formal channels with strict instructions not to tip off third parties and amid tight deadlines.
KSA Publishes Supervisory Priorities for 2026
The Dutch Gambling Authority published its supervisory agenda for 2026 on Tuesday, January 20. The program prioritises player protection and the prevention of illegal gambling operations. Key emphasis is on protecting minors and vulnerable individuals from gambling harm.
The document also underlines the watchdog’s commitment to enforcing stricter advertising guidelines and duty of care. The proposed measures will work in tandem with the recently established player protection department within the KSA’s new organisational structure.
Additional resources will also be allocated for combating illegal gambling in the domestic market. The gambling watchdog will collaborate with industry stakeholders, including software providers, payment systems, affiliates, and social media companies. The program aligns with the KSA’s strategy to improve cooperation within the sector.
The agenda outlines five key themes:
- Combating illegal gambling operators
- Protecting vulnerable groups, including minors and young adults
- Supervising the duty of care
- Supervising advertising
- Supervising compliance with the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act (Wwft)
Michel Groothuizen, Chairman of the Dutch Gambling Authority, previously revealed these core topics, reiterating his desire to establish a global regulatory association, which he described as a ‘gambling Interpol’. The organisation would enable gambling regulators globally to streamline the exchange of information for enforcement investigations against the black market.
The KSA has outlined an “integrated approach that addresses all parties facilitating illegal gambling” for combating unlicensed operations. On the bright side, the regulator revealed that at least 90% of players continue to use legal providers. It explained that the money going to illegal operators must be reduced by working with providers to disrupt the market and make it less viable.
In 2025, the authority noted that it successfully restricted .nl affiliates through cooperation with the Foundation for Internet Domain Registration in the Netherlands. The watchdog has also been successfully coordinating with social media companies to remove content promoting illegal gambling operations.
At the same time, the regulator has increased oversight and enforcement. Last week, the KSA sanctioned two gambling operators for violating the Gambling Act. As for land-based gambling, the KSA is further analysing the workings within the sector to restrict supply to illegal land-based operations. Land-based gambling has been underperforming for some time now, with the KSA reporting a significant decline in revenue in 2024.
Measures for Vulnerable Groups, Duty of Care and Advertising
The KSA explains that the number of minors and young adults coming into contact with gambling must be reduced. It is investigating operators and sanctioning violations with inputs from a control database. The watchdog plans to study why young people gamble and what influences their gambling behaviour and design preventative measures to stop untargeted adverts from reaching young people.
In 2026, the KSA is urging licensed operators to strengthen their duty of care and protect players from risky or problematic gambling. It also plans to complete Investigations into CRUK’s notifications, the national self-exclusion database, and personal interviews in early 2026.
The watchdog also aims to reduce the number of advertising violations by operators. It will continue to enforce the ban on celebrities endorsing gambling brands and offerings. Gambling advertisement in the Netherlands is permitted under strict conditions. The KSA revealed that further guidance will be published in the coming days.
New AML regulations for monitoring financial sanctions and cash limits are under development. The regulator has reiterated its commitment to monitoring compliance with the Wwft using data-driven and risk-based monitoring systems. Operators will be required to follow new guidelines, including submitting an exit plan while applying for a permit.
Public Records Detail KSA’s Payment Data Campaign with Financial Facilitators
According to newly published records from the KSA, the regulator has been working closely with banks and payment service providers since 2012 to counter unlicensed online gambling, often through formal requests not to disclose to third parties and within tight deadlines.
The documents were disclosed under a Dutch public-records process (Woo request 19162) covering communications with banks and payment firms between 2012 and 2022, according to the KSA’s Woo disclosures page. Since the KSA couldn’t reach offshore operators directly, it mapped the money trail around them, starting with the systems Dutch players were using to move funds.
The regulator targeted payment rails, especially iDEAL, the Netherlands’ dominant online bank transfer method, by demanding transaction data from banks, as well as contract and transaction details from payment processors tied to operators serving Dutch customers without a licence.
The KSA’s attention centred on Unibet during the period when the brand was active in the Netherlands without a local licence. The same disclosure package cites a later request to Worldpay, seeking contracts and correspondence connected to Unibet.eu, alongside an overview of iDEAL transactions made by Dutch residents over a specified period.
Letters dated September 2017 show the KSA summoning Dutch PSPs DialXS and Cardgate for an evaluation meeting tied to a cooperation agreement, with the regulator requesting different representatives because of conflicts linked to ongoing legal proceedings.
The KSA’s 2026 agenda signals a broader approach, combining player protection, marketing controls, and stronger supervision of duty of care with continued efforts to disrupt illegal gambling. The public records disclosures highlight how banks and PSPs have played a role in the regulator’s enforcement strategy, particularly where offshore operators were difficult to reach directly.
Together, the two developments demonstrate the KSA’s intention to leverage market supervision and financial oversight to reduce harm and strengthen regulatory compliance in the Netherlands.