NETHERLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Alan Littler, Justin Franssen and Chris Adriaansz, Franssen Tolboom
• public places (including public buildings). Advertising via the internet is permitted for remote gambling licence holders, provided that three cumu- lative conditions are complied with, as follows. • The licence holder must give persons the opportu- nity to indicate that they do not wish to be reached by advertising. • The licence holder must take the best available measures to exclude the following from advertis- ing: (a) minors; (b) persons displaying characteristics of risky gambling behaviour; (c) young adults (18–23 years of age); (d) persons that have excluded themselves from its remote gambling offer; and (e) persons that have indicated that they do not wish to receive advertising. • The licence holder must demonstrate (retroac- tively), using the best available techniques, that at least 95% of those reached by an advertisement Since the opening of the remote gambling market, the NGA has intensified its enforcement efforts against the advertising of locally unlicensed remote gam- bling offers. Since 2022, several cease-and-desist orders were imposed, involving penalties ranging from EUR2,500 to EUR5,000 for every day the affili- ate failed to comply with the order, with a maximum penalty of EUR12,500 to EUR25,000. In 2025, cease- and-desist orders for influencers included penalties of EUR25,000 per transgression of the order up to a maximum of EUR75,000. In 2023, the NGA imposed an administrative fine of EUR675,000 upon an entity advertising locally unli- censed remote gambling offers. This entity was pre- viously served with a cease-and-desist order, which was ignored. had reached the age of 24. 9.5 Sanctions/Penalties The initial approach of the NGA regarding violations of advertising restrictions was to issue warnings to licence holders. However, in 2023 the NGA also inten- sified its enforcement against licence holders who it
deemed to be in breach of advertising regulations. Several licence holders have been fined EUR400,000 for breaching the ban on targeting advertising activities at young adults. At the same time, informal enforce- ment via warnings continues in 2025 for “smaller” transgressions. 10. Acquisitions and Changes of Control 10.1 Disclosure Requirements All licence holders (both land-based licence holders and remote gambling licence holders) must inform the NGA without delay of: • any relevant changes in the organisational structure of the company; and • any relevant changes to the information provided in the context of the licence application. 10.2 Change of Corporate Control Triggers The BGA, secondary legislation and the applicable licence award decision identify several changes that the NGA must be informed of by the relevant land- based or remote gambling licence holder. These trig- gers include: • changes in shareholders and ultimate beneficial owners; • the granting of suspension payments; • changes in management positions; • changes in the legal form of the licence holder; • mergers and splits; • the transfer of its seat; and • corporate acquisitions. Most corporate control changes trigger a notification procedure but do not require the NGA’s pre-approval (except for mergers and splits). However, the NGA will assess a notified change on the basis of the submitted documentation. Corporate control assessments always took place “after the fact” (eg, after the share transfer). This may change in 2026, as the NGA is listening to concerns from within the industry regarding the legal uncertainty associated with the timing of the assessment. Never-
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