The Dutch Gambling Regulator (KSA) is to amend its Remote Gambling Licensing Policy Rules effective January 1, 2026. This amendment is necessary, in part, because the licenses granted in September 2021 expire on October 1, 2026. Licenses have a term of five years. The amended policy rules impose new obligations on all applicants, but primarily provide guidance on the process for applying for a follow-up license by providers already holding a license.

New requirements apply to all license applicants. For example, applications must include a document explaining how providers plan to inform the KSA (Netherlands Authority for the Protection of Gaming) in a timely manner about important changes to their policies and operations. Applicants must also now include an exit plan explaining how they will reduce their gaming offerings once the license expires.

Furthermore, an important addition has been made regarding reliability: if providers have not complied with final or provisionally enforceable court rulings at the time of their application, their reliability is not beyond doubt. This constitutes grounds for refusing a license. Providers must also now submit a Wwft risk analysis with their application.

A separate application procedure applies to applications for a follow-up license by parties already active on the market. In this procedure, various components will be reassessed, including the addiction prevention policy and the recruitment and advertising policy. A new integration test will be conducted for the control database (CDB) component. They must also meet the new conditions that apply to all applications, as mentioned above.

When opening the online market, the legislature deliberately opted to issue permits with a term of (maximum) five years. By using a fixed-term permit, the legislature intended that the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (KSA) would consider supervisory experience gained in each application for a subsequent permit. Providers who have made mistakes in the past five years must explain during the application process how they have learned from previous mistakes and how they intend to prevent recurrence. If the KSA finds this explanation insufficient, the permit may be denied or additional conditions and restrictions may be imposed.

Kazakhstan’s Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA) has identified 34 bloggers promoting online casinos on social media, with 11 already facing administrative penalties. The agency has stated that fines alone are not deterring repeat offenders and is now considering introducing criminal liability for such activities.

A law passed in 2024 strictly prohibits outdoor advertising for bookmakers, online casinos and betting pools, as well as their promotion in media, films and video content. According to the FMA, over the past two and a half years, more than 200 illegal gambling operations have been dismantled, and 224 individuals have been held criminally accountable. However, the agency notes that the primary threat now stems from online casinos based abroad.

Since the beginning of this year, authorities have blocked more than 17,000 links, mostly mirror sites for foreign platforms. Despite these efforts, some Kazakhstani payment service providers continue to facilitate transactions linked to such websites. The FMA has pledged to intensify investigations into these financial intermediaries.

Influencer marketing remains a key channel for online gambling promotion. In the first half of the year alone, 34 influencers were identified as advertising gambling services, with 11 fined. But according to the FMA, revenues from such promotions far exceed the cost of the fines, creating incentives for repeated violations.

In response, the agency is exploring whether bloggers’ actions could be legally interpreted as aiding and abetting illegal gambling, a charge similar to promoting financial pyramid schemes, which already carries criminal penalties under Kazakhstani law. Currently, fines for illegal advertising on social media start at 200,000 KZT (approximately $420).