Dutch Gambling Regulator Launches Campaigns to Protect Young Adults

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) announced two gambling-harm awareness campaigns on November 2. The initiatives encourage parents to discuss betting risks with their children and promote self-exclusion among young adults experiencing gambling problems.

The first campaign, OpenOverGokken (Open About Gambling), targets parents of teenagers and young adults aged 16 to 25. The second focuses on Gokstop, the Netherlands’ gambling self-exclusion program, encouraging people to seek help before their gambling causes more serious difficulties.

KSA Encourages Parents to Discuss Gambling Risks Earlier

Through its new OpenOverGokken campaign, the KSA wants parents to recognize how frequently young people encounter gambling-related content. Exposure can occur through social media, online videos, advertising and video games, sometimes without parents realizing it.

The campaign features young people discussing how their parents address subjects such as sex and personal safety. It then asks why conversations about gambling are not treated with the same importance, encouraging families to raise the subject before signs of gambling harm emerge.

According to the KSA’s November 2 announcement, parents do not need to wait until their children begin gambling or develop problems to start these conversations. The regulator believes earlier discussions can help young people better understand gambling risks and recognize potentially harmful behavior.

The initiative builds on OpenOverGokken.nl, an independent information platform launched in 2025. It provides information about gambling, practical guidance for families and resources for people seeking support.

Developed by creative agency Noise, the campaign will reach parents through online videos, social media and digital advertising. Its central message encourages families to make gambling a regular subject of conversation rather than waiting for a specific reason to become concerned.

Gokstop Campaign Promotes Earlier Self-Exclusion

The KSA’s second campaign addresses young adults who already experience gambling problems or face an increased risk of developing them. It also targets friends and family members who may be able to encourage someone to seek assistance.

Built around the message “Every moment is a Gokstop moment,” the campaign challenges the idea that people must experience a financial crisis or another significant event before deciding to stop gambling.

Unlike earlier Gokstop campaigns that emphasized life after self-exclusion, the new initiative focuses on the decision to take that first step. It uses familiar everyday situations to demonstrate that people can choose to stop gambling at any time.

Gokstop promotes registration with Cruks, the Netherlands’ Central Register for Exclusion from Gambling. Individuals who register cannot access licensed online gambling platforms, casinos or gaming halls during their exclusion period, which lasts at least six months.

The campaign follows earlier efforts to improve access to the system. In April 2026, the regulator introduced simplified Cruks registration procedures for administrators assisting vulnerable individuals, reducing documentation requirements that previously delayed some applications.

Young Adults Remain a Focus of Dutch Gambling Regulation

The campaigns arrive as recent KSA research highlights the participation of younger adults in the regulated gambling market. In its April 2026 monitoring report, the regulator found that young adults accounted for 22% of active online gambling accounts during the second half of 2025, despite representing approximately 9.3% of the adult population.

The same report found average monthly losses of €34 per active account among young adults, compared with €73 for older players. The figures measure activity at licensed operators and do not necessarily represent individual players, who may hold accounts with multiple providers.

Separately, the regulator’s October 29 market assessment showed that gross gaming revenue across the licensed Dutch gambling market declined from €4.5 billion in 2024 to €4.1 billion in 2025. The KSA partly attributed the decline to consumer protection measures introduced in late 2024, including restrictions on net deposits.

However, online gambling account activity continued to grow. The regulator reported approximately 1.48 million active accounts in the first half of 2026, compared with 1.38 million in the preceding six months, while estimating that around 820,000 people gambled online at least once during the period.

The new campaigns do not introduce additional restrictions on licensed gambling operators or change the Netherlands’ minimum gambling age of 18. Instead, they extend the KSA’s existing prevention efforts by encouraging earlier conversations about gambling and making self-exclusion more visible to people who may need support.

RELATED TOPICS: Responsible Gambling