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By Diana Guerrero, journalist at G&M News.
Lately, the regulated online gambling market in the Netherlands has been introducing new guidance on the account closure process. The Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the country’s gambling regulator, published the new guidance on September 23rd, 2026, after finding that some licensed operators were not properly applying existing rules. The regulator’s main requirement is that players must be able to close their accounts as easily as possible when they request to do so.
The practices identified by the KSA include those that create additional barriers to closing an account. For example, an operator cannot require a player to contact customer service first to request account closure. If a player voluntarily contacts customer service or uses a chat to request closure, the operator also cannot use that interaction to try to persuade the player to continue using its services.
This guidance also clarifies what should happen to any funds remaining in an account. According to the KSA, the remaining balance must be paid without unnecessary delay and without imposing conditions. In April 2026, the authority had already stated that operators cannot charge fees for closing an account, as such costs could become a barrier for players who want to leave a platform. This does not prevent all charges: operators may, under certain conditions, apply fees for account management, payment processing, or the use of certain payment methods, provided these are communicated clearly and unambiguously before the player enters into the relevant arrangement.
Moreover, the change has implications for the design and operation of digital platforms. For operators, compliance does not simply mean providing an account closure option in their terms and conditions but ensuring that the process is genuinely accessible and not subject to additional steps that could make the player’s decision more difficult. The KSA considers such practices unacceptable and said the new guidance is intended to remove any ambiguity about how account closures should be handled.
The update comes as the Dutch market enters a new regulatory phase. First remote gambling licenses were issued in 2021 and expired this week. On September 17th, the KSA granted the first eight follow-on licenses, valid from October 2026 through September 2031. In this assessment, according to the regulator, definitive violations recorded during the previous five years were explicitly taken into account for the first time, and operators were required to explain what measures they had taken to correct those violations and prevent them from recurring.
A normalized and stable Dutch gambling market is now expected, with prospects for maintaining order and fostering growth for its operators.
