Dutch study finds rise in traffic to illegal gambling sites after deposit limits kicked in 

Traffic to unlicensed sites doubled after the Netherlands introduced new deposit limits.

The Netherlands.- Research suggests that there has been a sharp increase in the number of Dutch gamblers turning to unlicensed gambling sites since the Netherlands introduced new deposit limits in October. Conducted by Quality Mark Responsible Affiliates (KVA), the study says that traffic to sites found in online searches for “casino without limits” or “casino without Cruks” (the national self-exclusion system) rose from 172,576 in October to over a million in March. 

Traffic was studied using the SEO tool Semrush. The report also found that the number of unlicensed domains appearing at the top of such search results rose from 19 in October to 72 in March. 

KVA, which is an advisory board founded by XY Legal Solutions, warned that “further restrictions on legal advertising could have an unintended adverse effect, causing players to switch to illegal platforms even more quickly.”

The Dutch gambling regulator, the KSA, has also expressed concern about plans to tighten gambling regulations further. The government is considering increasing the minimum age for online casino gambling to 21, but the regulator fears that this may lead to younger players turning to unlicensed sites that offer no consumer protection measures. 

The Netherlands’ online gambling deposit limits introduced in October are set at €700 per month for most players and €300 for those aged 18 to 25. Players can request an increase to their limit but must provide proof of income to do so. The KSA has reported that the number of players losing more than €1,000 in a month fell from 4 to 1 per cent after the introduction of the limits, but it also estimated that the percentage of bets lost to unlicensed sites had risen to 50 per cent.