Online Gambling Growth in the Netherlands Slows Down 4X in H1 2023

The Dutch online gambling market has hit the brakes on its growth. The latest data from the national gambling regulator shows that the Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR*) from online betting and gaming grew by only 8% in the first half of 2023, compared to 33% in the second half of 2022.

Not only that, but the number of active gambling accounts also dropped from 859,000 to 826,000 in the same period.

So, what’s going on? Are the Dutch losing their appetite for online gambling?

Well, not exactly. The data also reveals that from January to July 2023, about 676,000 Dutch adults (or 4.7% of the adult population) tried online gambling at least once, and 417,000 of them played at least once a month.

The 18-24 year olds saw a 7.6% decrease in their online gambling participation in 2023. However, they still remained one of the primary age groups in the industry, and also the luckiest ones, losing only about €59 per month on average. The overall monthly loss for gamblers was around €170.

Another positive trend was the increase in legal online gambling. As of July 2023, 93% of Dutch gamblers used licensed online platforms, up from 80% in 2021. And almost all new users (98%) registered on legal gambling sites.

*GGR is a financial metric used to measure gross earnings, calculated by subtracting total winnings from total bets.