Since the Supreme Court struck down PASPA in 2018, legal sports betting has spread across the United States at record speed. More than 35 states now allow it, and each one has written its own rulebook. The result is a patchwork of tax rates, advertising rules and player protections that changes the moment you cross a state line.
Around the same time, the Netherlands took a very different route. The Dutch opened their online betting and casino market in 2021 under one national system, then spent the next five years tightening it. With the debate over gambling advertising and player protection heating up in the US, the Dutch approach is worth a closer look.
One Market, One License
The Netherlands legalized online gambling through the Remote Gambling Act, which took effect in April 2021. The regulated market officially opened on October 1, 2021. Instead of 35-plus state regulators, there is one: the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Dutch Gaming Authority.
Every operator that wants to serve Dutch players needs a license from the KSA, and that license comes with strict conditions on player protection, fair play and anti-money-laundering controls. BetCity.nl, one of the operators in the very first group of licensees in 2021, is a typical example of how the market works: a Dutch-facing brand, licensed and supervised nationally, operating under the same rules as every other licensed operator. Licenses run for five years, and renewals take into account how an operator has behaved during that time.
For bettors, the upside is simplicity. The rules are the same whether you live in Amsterdam or a small village in the north.
Advertising: From Everywhere to Almost Nowhere
Anyone who has watched an NFL Sunday knows how present sportsbook advertising is in the US. The Netherlands went through the same phase. After the market opened, gambling ads were everywhere: on TV, on billboards and on the jerseys of sports teams.
The backlash was fast. In July 2023, the Dutch banned untargeted gambling advertising, which means no more TV commercials, billboards or ads aimed at a general audience. In July 2025, sports sponsorship by gambling operators followed. Operators can still advertise, but only through channels where they can make sure vulnerable groups, such as young adults, are not reached.
The Dutch government now wants to go further. In June 2026, it announced plans for a complete ban on online gambling advertising and on bonus offers such as free bets for new customers. Those plans still have to be written into law.
For the US, where proposals like the SAFE Bet Act have put advertising limits on the national agenda, the Netherlands is an interesting case study of what happens when a market goes from wide-open marketing to near silence.
Deposit Limits Built Into the System
In most US states, deposit limits are a tool players can choose to use. In the Netherlands, limits are part of the system.
Since October 2024, Dutch operators must apply monthly deposit thresholds: €150 (about $175) for players under 24 and €350 (about $410) for players aged 24 and older. Anyone who wants to deposit more first has to go through a mandatory check-in with the operator, where the risks of gambling are discussed. The legal gambling age is 18, but the Dutch treat players under 24 as a separate, more protected group.
The next step is already on the table: an overall deposit ceiling, where players who want to go higher have to show they can afford it.
One National Self-Exclusion Register
Self-exclusion in the US mostly works state by state, and sometimes operator by operator. A player who excludes themselves in one state can often still bet across the border.
The Netherlands has a single national register called Cruks. Every licensed operator, online or land-based, has to check it before letting someone play. Once you are on the list, you are blocked everywhere in the legal market. Family members can also request an exclusion for someone close to them, and the government is working on making permanent self-exclusion possible.
Taxes: High, but Uniform
US states tax sportsbooks at very different rates, from single digits in Nevada to 51% in New York. The Netherlands has one rate for the whole market, and it keeps going up: the gambling tax on operators’ gross gaming revenue rose to 34.2% in 2025 and to 37.8% in 2026. It’s high, but everyone pays the same, and players don’t pay tax on their winnings with a licensed operator.
The Trade-Off
The Dutch model is not without critics. Operators argue that strict rules and high taxes push some players toward unlicensed offshore sites, where none of these protections apply. The government’s answer has been to step up enforcement, including plans to block illegal sites and to go after the payment providers and hosting companies that support them.
That is exactly the balance US regulators are trying to find: protect players without driving them to the black market. The Netherlands has not solved that puzzle yet, but after five years of regulating, it offers a clear look at what a stricter, centralized approach looks like in practice.
