Ksa and Google draft EU white list of legal gambling operators

The Dutch gambling regulator is negotiating with Google and Meta over illegal gambling ads instead of fining them, for now. The Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa), the Netherlands Gambling Authority, has enough evidence against large platforms, its chair says, but is not obliged to bring a case.

Chair Michel Groothuizen set out the approach in a column dated 14 October 2026, five years after the Dutch online market was legalised. He wrote that the regulator has enough evidence that large platforms facilitate prohibited activity, but that having a case does not mean it must bring it.

The details

• The money: research shows about 90% of Dutch online gamblers use only legal providers, Groothuizen wrote, but in money terms every euro wagered with a licensed operator is matched by one in the illegal circuit.
• Fines: fines on illegal operators send a clear signal but have hardly any effect on collection, he wrote. Over the past year and a half the Ksa has also tried to make illegal offers harder to find and to cut off payments to them.
• The task force: after talks with Google and Meta in Dublin last spring, together with several European regulators, a joint task force is drafting a white list with Google of all legal operators in the EU. Google could then block all others, he wrote.
• The legal route: Groothuizen wrote that a court case would face opponents with near-unlimited funds and could take about five years to reach a final ruling, with an uncertain outcome. Under the EU’s Digital Services Act the decision to act lies with the European Commission; the Ksa can only supply grounds.
• The pressure: VVD member of parliament Bart Bikkers called in a September committee debate for fines on very large online platforms. Groothuizen said the Ksa would not hesitate to take on one of them if agreements yield too little.

The big picture

The Ksa has been active against illegal and non-compliant operators this month, including a warning to 711 over deposit wagering and the removal of cloned .co.nl sites. Sanctions against operators are tracked in The Payout.

What’s next

The column gives no date for the white list or for any proceedings against a platform.