Dutch gambling regulator De Kansspelautoriteit has told local gamblers using illegal online casino and betting sites that they must withdraw their funds as soon as possible as unlicensed gambling sites may be inaccessible in the very near future.
In a statement released via De Kansspelautoriteit’s website, the authority warned players that once an illegal website receives a warning from the regulator, it will be notified that it must withdraw all services from the Dutch market. As a result, many operators won’t allow traffic from the Netherlands to access their site. In this case, players may no longer have access to their accounts and cannot withdraw their funds.
De Kansspelautoriteit has also noted that it has identified 25 illegal websites for investigation and that it would soon begin the process of issuing warnings to the website operators.
This is the first time that the regulator has made a public announcement of this nature to warn players to be wary of any potential financial losses due to its own regulatory action.
On October 1st 2021, the Netherlands launched a regulated online gambling industry that saw some providers leave the Dutch market. However, there are now multiple legal options for both online sports betting and casino gaming available in the country and De Kansspelautoriteit is eager to push local gamblers towards these legal entities.
Based in London, Natasha is a former sports journalist with experience working for some of the biggest athletes & brands in the world of sports and iGaming.