Netherlands achieves 85% channelisation and €80m monthly GGR in its first year: Legal compliance progress

One of the main objectives of the 2020 Remote Gambling Act (KOA) in the Netherlands was to achieve an 80% channelisation rate, with the majority of players using legal licensed gambling websites. According to a survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of the Netherlands Online Gambling Association (NOGA), one year after the law’s full implementation, the channelisation rate has reached 85%. However, the Dutch gambling regulator, KSA, expressed some doubts regarding these figures. The Ipsos survey only presented respondents with a list of 22 illegal providers, while there are actually many more unlicensed sites operating in the country. Therefore, the KSA believes that the reported 85% channelisation rate is likely an overestimate. The KSA also uses web traffic analysis to estimate channelisation rates, although this data does not differentiate between actual gambling activities and general website visits. Nevertheless, this information provides a basis for comparing with other data sources, such as survey results. Despite the launch of the regulated market leading to an increase in legal gambling offerings and a decrease in illegal ones, there is still a resilient grey and black market sector representing approximately 20% of total gambling website usage. This, along with the limitations of the Ipsos survey, indicates that the actual channelisation rate might be slightly lower than what was reported. In terms of revenue, the Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) in the Netherlands is around €80m per month, with a peak of €90m in January. However, the revenue has remained relatively stagnant since then, even with new entrants joining the market. Further analysis reveals that the majority of revenue, approximately €69m out of €86m, comes from online casino games. Within the casino sector, 73% of the market consists of games played against the house, while the remaining portion comes from peer-to-peer games. Legal operators generate an additional €17m in revenue from sports and horse betting activities. Horse race betting accounts for a marginal percentage of the market, representing only around €172,000. Although it is challenging to determine the exact number of players due to users having multiple accounts, as of July 2022, there were approximately 563,000 active accounts in the country, with an average monthly player loss of €153.