The Dutch Gaming Authority (KSA) has completed its investigation into whether minors were able to create accounts on legal online betting sites, finding it “virtually impossible” to do so outside of a “very limited number of cases.”
While minors in the Netherlands are prohibited from engaging in gambling activity, the KSA had “received signals” it was possible to create an account with legal iGaming operators and began investigating the matter during 2025.
The investigation focused on the registration processes of operators currently licensed in the Netherlands, including identity and bank account verification.
Despite the study finding “no serious abuses at all,” minors were able to use someone else’s bank accounts or link their own accounts to an operator’s site “exclusively” in situations where both parties had the exact same initials.
The KSA shared that conversations with iGaming operators failed to result in a solution when the issue was first discovered, but has now provided online entities with the necessary tools to counteract such efforts.
'The KSA is very concerned about minors who gamble. Fortunately, it appears that this hardly ever happens with permit holders, but we do have clear signals that it is happening anyway. That will be on the illegal market,” KSA Board Chairman Michel Groothuizen said.
“Illegal providers often have no or low standards for age verification and advertise aimed at precisely this young target group, for example via TikTok. This is extremely harmful, and the KSA is therefore working hard to combat the illegal supply. We are also putting a stronger focus on education for minors to make them aware of the risks of gambling.”
On 9 April, Unibet was issued an official instruction from the KSA for violating the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act. Of the policies stated in the instruction, transaction monitoring and control measure guidelines were not carried out fully by Unibet.
The Dutch Gaming Authority (KSA) published two studies alongside its updated guidance on March 31, designed to support online gambling operators in meeting their duty of care obligations
