Dutch Lawmakers Weigh a Ban on iGaming Ads, Bonuses, and New Deposit Rules

The Netherlands is looking at another round of tighter gambling rules, this time including a possible ban on online gambling ads and bonuses, plus stricter deposit limits, affordability checks, and broader powers to go after the black market. For PSPs and operators, the practical question is not whether Dutch compliance is getting harder — it already is — but how much harder the next bill could make acquisition and retention.

1. Justice and Security State Secretary Claudia van Bruggen has proposed a package that goes beyond advertising. The draft ideas also include stricter deposit limit rules, affordability checks, expanded regulatory powers against the black market, and changes to self-exclusion rules.
2. Under the self-exclusion proposal, voluntary exclusions would not end automatically when the chosen period expires. Instead, they would continue until the player turns them off. The plan would also let relatives request a loved one’s self-exclusion.
3. One of the more operationally relevant points is allowing regulators to block unlicensed gambling websites. For high-risk payment teams, that matters because enforcement is no longer just about fines and warnings; it starts to look like infrastructure-level access control.
4. The government says the proposals respond to disconcerting gambling harm rates in the country, especially among younger players since re-regulation. The stated logic is straightforward: fewer ads and inducements should mean fewer problems, while affordability checks should stop players from spending beyond their means.
5. The Netherlands is already one of Europe’s strictest gambling regimes. It has previously banned untargeted ads, restricted sports sponsorships with gambling companies, and barred ads from featuring personalities likely to appeal to younger players or minors.

There is also a familiar industry counterargument here: critics say a blanket ad ban would make legal operators less competitive and hand more room to the black market. That concern landed against a recent backdrop of tax hikes that hurt the industry, which is why the Dutch Lottery has already urged lawmakers to reject further gambling tax increases.