Dutch online gambling market achieves GGR of €1.39bn in 2023
Number of active accounts hits 1.1 million, yet regulator admits the Netherlands is “growing less strongly than gambling markets in other countries”
The legal online gambling industry in the Netherlands generated gross gaming revenue (GGR) of €1.39bn (£1.19bn) throughout 2023, according to a monitoring report published by the country’s regulator, the KSA.
That figure was a 29% increase on the €1.08bn licensed operators racked up the prior year, although GGR only rose by 1% year on year (YoY) in the second half of 2023.
In fact, the KSA said growth throughout 2023 was “significantly less” than 2022, with the governing body conceding that the Dutch market is “growing less strongly than gambling markets in other countries”.
Despite this, the number of active accounts was up YoY, climbing from 970,000 in 2022 to 1.1 million last year.
Because active accounts do not indicate the actual number of players, the KSA estimates that around a third of all accounts are played by 448,000 customers per month.
In the final six months of 2023, approximately 726,000 players were active with legal operators, the regulator revealed, meaning around 5% of Dutch adults gambled online in H2.
Furthermore, the report said 90% of players only gamble through legal websites and apps, which, if correct, means the Netherlands is exceeding the target channelisation rate of at least 80% that was set when the regulated online market went live in October 2021.
In terms of expenditure, the KSA estimates that online players lost an average of €958 during the last six months of 2023.
This equates to around €160 a month, which was slightly down on the €170 lost each month in the first half of the year.
As for young adults (18-23 year olds), the regulator said this demographic had a “relatively large number of accounts” and that while representing 9.5% of the population, they play with 22% of the total number of accounts.
However, this demographic lose less money than players aged 24 and above; on average €52 a month.
This latest monitoring report is the first published since the ban on untargeted advertising came into effect from 1 July 2023, yet the KSA said the market has not experienced any noticeable contraction since the ban.
“However, the number of visits to gambling websites by people who are not players has decreased significantly,” the report said.
“People who already played do not come less often, so the advertising ban mainly affects people who do not yet play.”
The KSA is has yet to announce a new chairman to replace René Jansen who is retire on 1 July 2024.