KSA tightens means-test guidance for online gambling deposits in the Netherlands

The Dutch Gaming Authority (KSA) has updated its guidance on the statutory means test for online gambling players, after inspections found that some operators were still getting the basics wrong. For PSPs and operators in the Netherlands, the practical point is simple: deposit-limit handling now has to be tied to structural income, not whatever balance sheet item looks convenient.

1. Since October 2024, licensed online gambling operators in the Netherlands have had to run a means test whenever a player wants to deposit above the monthly limits: €300 net for players aged 18 to 24 and €700 for those aged 24 and over. The test sits inside the KSA’s “duty of care” framework, which was introduced in 2024.
2. The revised “good and bad practices” document, published this week, clarifies that monthly deposit limits must be based only on a player’s structural, recurring income. Savings, business assets, home equity, and one-off payments such as bonuses and gifts are not to be counted as regular income for affordability checks.
3. The KSA says the earlier wording misled some operators into including those non-recurring assets, which pushed deposit limits higher than they should have been. In other words: if the money does not recur, it does not belong in the calculation.
4. After issuing the initial guidance in February 2025, the regulator carried out sample checks on 20 licence holders and found ongoing non-compliance and procedural weaknesses. The enforcement tally so far includes 10 improvement interviews, three formal warnings, and one binding instruction.
5. The updated guidance also points to practices the KSA sees as acceptable. These include blocking operator-initiated deposit-limit increases above €300 per month for young adults, regardless of declared income, and using a lower share of net income than the standard 30% when setting safe recreational-spending limits for low-income players. Operators are also encouraged to allow one deposit above a player’s limit before applying a hard cap of €300 or €700 if the means test has not been completed.

The KSA also wants operators to document how net deposit limits are calculated and keep that evidence on file. For payment providers and acquiring partners, that means the compliance question is no longer just “can the transaction be processed?” but “can the operator prove why this limit was set in the first place?”