KVA Warns of Casinos Targeting Dutch Youth Online

The Netherlands is facing new concerns after the Keurmerk Verantwoorde Affiliates (KVA) published research showing how unlicensed gambling platforms and their partners are aggressively recruiting underage players.
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Good to know

• KVA reports that affiliates and influencers use TikTok, Instagram, Discord, and Telegram to reach minors.
• Tactics include fake wins, peer pressure, and time-limited offers.
• Dutch regulators are being urged to strengthen protections for young people.

KVA’s new report details how online communities and popular social media platforms expose minors to gambling promotions. Through livestreams and closed chat groups, illegal operators dangle bonuses, crypto payments, and exclusive campaigns.

Some promotions go so far as to directly target pupils and students, such as a Back-2-School bonus campaign. These activities are presented as entertainment but in reality drive underage users to unlicensed casinos.

Psychological Pressure and Influencer Role

The study notes several tactics designed to push young people into gambling:

1. Peer pressure: suggesting that those who don’t join are missing out.
2. Fake winnings: showing simulated large prizes to create unrealistic expectations.
3. Limited-time campaigns: urging fast decisions without consideration.

Influencers and streamers are central to this problem. During livestreams, they showcase supposed “big wins” and share affiliate links, which are later circulated in private groups alongside misleading messages about quick profits.

Easy Access for Minors

Previous KVA research in 2024 revealed that minors could deposit money at illegal casinos using youth bank accounts from Dutch financial institutions. That lack of restriction means children and teenagers are able to gamble without any protections in place. Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant reported at the time that this group is especially vulnerable to addiction.

Steven Vrolijk of KVA stressedthe seriousness of the findings:

“The gambling sector has, by now, become used to the large-scale presence of illegality. But cases like this, where the open recruitment of minors takes place, are still a real shock. It underlines the urgent need for cooperation in the fight against illegal operators, as is currently being done within the Alliance at the Kansspelautoriteit.”

The KVA is urging policymakers, regulators, and parents to remain vigilant. Protecting young people from illegal gambling exposure remains one of the most pressing challenges for Dutch authorities, particularly as social media continues to be a primary channel for recruitment.