The Netherlands' gambling regulator is working with one of the world's largest advertising platforms to build a registry of licensed gambling operators across the European Union. The goal: give the platform a reliable way to identify and cut off advertisers who operate without a license. KSA Chairman Michel Groothuizen disclosed the initiative in an October 14, 2026 commentary, tracing its origins to talks held in Dublin earlier this year between European regulators and major tech platforms.
From Dublin Talks to a Joint Task Force
According to Groothuizen, the Dublin meetings brought the KSA together with counterparts from other EU states, alongside representatives from the advertising platform and Meta, to establish a joint task force focused on illegal gambling promotion. No launch date has been set for the proposed list, and the mechanics of how it would be maintained, updated, or enforced across jurisdictions remain undefined. What is clear is the intent: shift responsibility for filtering unlicensed advertisers onto the platforms that carry their ads, rather than relying solely on national regulators to chase individual operators after the fact.
Why Platforms Have Little Incentive to Act Alone
Groothuizen was blunt about the underlying tension. Advertising platforms generate revenue from gambling ads regardless of whether the advertiser holds a valid license, which means voluntary restriction cuts against their own commercial interest. "Voluntarily giving this up or imposing substantial restrictions on themselves goes squarely against their business model," he said. "Yet that is what we demand of them, preferably amicably, if necessary by force." That framing points to a legal strategy as much as a technical one. Groothuizen cited Dutch law and the EU's Digital Services Act as possible grounds for action, though he acknowledged that DSA enforcement against the largest platforms falls to the European Commission, and that litigation of this kind could stretch on for up to five years.
A Shift From Fines to Choke Points
The emphasis on advertising and payment channels reflects a practical reality: the KSA has struggled to collect fines from operators based outside its jurisdiction. Chasing unlicensed sites directly often hits a wall once they have no physical or financial presence in the Netherlands. Targeting the advertising and payment infrastructure they depend on is a different approach, aimed at the points where illegal operators still need legitimate partners to function. Groothuizen also raised a consumer-protection concern that goes beyond market share: social media ads for illegal gambling sites have reportedly reached minors and players who had self-excluded from licensed platforms, a group the regulatory system is specifically designed to protect.
The Scale of the Channeling Problem
Five years after the Dutch online gambling market opened to licensed operators, roughly 90% of active players now stick to licensed sites, according to the KSA. Yet the regulator estimates that around half of all online gambling spending in the country still flows to illegal operators. That gap between player numbers and spending suggests illegal platforms are capturing disproportionately high-value activity, often through aggressive advertising and products that licensed operators cannot legally offer, such as unrestricted bonuses or bypassed deposit limits.
- A joint EU regulator-platform task force emerged from meetings in Dublin in 2026.
- No timeline exists yet for launching the shared list of licensed operators.
- Legal routes under Dutch law and the DSA could take years to resolve.
- Illegal operators account for an estimated half of Dutch online gambling spending despite serving a small share of players.
Whether this initiative becomes a working enforcement tool or remains a statement of intent will depend on details still unresolved: how operators get verified for the list, how quickly it can be updated, and whether other EU regulators commit resources to maintaining it. For now, it signals a broader trend in online gambling regulation - one where advertising platforms and payment processors, not just gambling operators themselves, are treated as accountable parties in controlling illegal market activity.