Dutch Parliament Rejects Motion for Blanket Gambling Advertising Ban

^{The Binnenhof in The Hague, seat of the Dutch parliament, which voted against a motion for a blanket gambling advertising ban. (Photo: Rainer Ebert / Wikimedia Commons)}

The Dutch House of Representatives has rejected a motion that would have banned gambling advertising across both online and land-based channels, though a narrower online ad ban already under discussion remains in play.

The motion, tabled by MP Diederik van Dijk, was put to a vote in the Tweede Kamer and received support from 64 seats, short of the majority needed to pass. According to the official record of Kamerstuk 24557, nr. 291, the motion argued the government's own involvement in gambling through state holdings such as the Staatsloterij and Holland Casino was difficult to reconcile with its ambition to limit gambling-related harm.

Vote Split Along Party Lines

Parties including PRO, CDA, JA21, ChristenUnie, DENK, Partij voor de Dieren, SGP, SP and Volt backed the proposal, along with MP Keijzer, but the combined support fell short of the votes needed to carry it through the chamber.

The rejected motion went further than a previously discussed plan to restrict only online gambling advertising, extending the proposed ban to offline gambling advertising as well, covering physical gambling premises.

Online Ad Restrictions Still Being Worked Through

VNLOK chair Björn Fuchs told EGR that further restrictions beyond what the sector already faces would "cripple" the online gambling market in the Netherlands, where operators are licensed and taxed under the Kansspelautoriteit's regulated regime.

The Tweede Kamer's vote leaves the narrower online-only advertising ban on the table even as the broader blanket proposal was defeated.

The debate comes as the Dutch regulator continues renewing five-year licences for operators under the Remote Gambling Act, including Holland Casino Online's own licence renewal from 1 October 2026, and follows an earlier parliamentary session in which MPs united on stepping up enforcement against illegal gambling operators while pausing a related age-verification debate.

The government has not said when it expects to bring forward its own proposals on online gambling advertising for a vote.

The Netherlands opened its regulated online gambling market in 2021 under the Remote Gambling Act, bringing previously grey-market operators under licence from the Kansspelautoriteit. Advertising restrictions have tightened steadily since then, including a ban on untargeted gambling ads and a prohibition on using role-model athletes and celebrities in gambling marketing, measures introduced in response to concerns about exposure among young and vulnerable consumers.

Thursday's vote is unlikely to be the last word on the subject. Dutch coalition negotiations have repeatedly featured gambling advertising as a point of contention between parties pushing for stricter consumer-protection rules and those warning that over-regulation could drive Dutch players toward unlicensed, untaxed offshore operators instead.

The Tweede Kamer has considered several related motions on gambling in recent weeks, including proposals on overarching play limits and tougher enforcement against operators, reflecting a broader push across the chamber to tighten consumer protection even where individual measures, like the blanket ad ban, fail to secure a majority.