The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has issued a binding instruction to Hillside New Media Malta, the operator behind the bet365 brand in the Netherlands, after concluding that the company failed to adequately meet its duty of care obligations toward players.
The instruction, issued on 13 November 2025, followed a regulatory audit that found Hillside did not sufficiently respond to signals indicating that some customers may no longer have been able to afford the financial consequences of their gambling behaviour.
According to KSA, the operator also failed to take timely and appropriate intervention measures once those signals were identified.
Under Dutch gambling regulations, licensed providers are required to actively monitor player behaviour and assess whether gambling activity is proportionate to an individual’s financial situation.
The rules include monthly net deposit thresholds of €300 ($352) for young adults aged 18 to 23 and €700 for players aged 24 and over.
Once these thresholds are exceeded, operators must conduct a means, or capacity-to-pay, test to determine whether higher deposit limits are appropriate. If such checks are not completed, further deposits must be blocked for the remainder of the month.
KSA's audit found that Hillside relied on self-reported income questionnaires prior to March 2025, despite earlier guidance from the regulator that questionnaires alone were not suitable for assessing a player’s financial capacity.
The authority also identified errors in the calculation of net deposit limits, which allowed customers to deposit amounts that exceeded what they could reasonably afford.
As part of the binding instruction, Hillside has been given four weeks to bring its processes into compliance. Failure to do so could result in further enforcement action, including financial penalties or, in extreme cases, the revocation of its Dutch remote gambling licence.
Hillside has since lodged an objection to the instruction.
The directive comes as bet365 continues expanding its content partnerships globally, recently signing distribution agreements with Gaming Corps and Incentive Games, while its FY2025 financial results showed revenue growth to £4.04bn ($5.47bn) despite a 50% decline in profit.
The Dutch online gambling market has been regulated since October 2021, with strict duty of care requirements designed to limit excessive gambling and reduce the risk of gambling-related harm
