Netherlands Councillor Calls For Gambling Age Rise To 24

Enschede councillor Meryam Sümer wants Dutch lawmakers to raise the minimum age for online gambling from 18 to 24, after local debt data showed growing financial pressure among young people.

Good to Know

• Sümer said one in five young people in Enschede is in debt.
• The proposal would raise the online gambling age to 24.
• Dutch policy already treats under-24s as a higher-risk group in gambling marketing and deposit rules.

Age Rise Raises Fair Question Over Channelisation

Sümer, a CDA councillor and welfare worker, linked youth debt to easy online gambling access, buy-now-pay-later products and constant digital advertising. Enschede recorded 12,145 cases of problematic debt in 2025, including 960 cases involving eviction or utility disconnection risk.

She said:

“Many youngsters do not yet have the financial awareness to manage multiple subscriptions, instalment purchases and gambling offers appearing on social media and within mobile games,”

Her answer is a higher gambling age. Sümer said the goal should be to reduce “verleidingen,” or temptations, around products that can add debt risk.

The Netherlands already restricts gambling ads aimed at people under 24. However, a 2026 study of Meta ads found 31 of 277 Dutch gambling adverts may have targeted age groups including 18 to 23-year-olds, showing enforcement gaps remain a real issue.

A higher age limit may reduce legal exposure, but it may not solve the full problem. The Dutch government already introduced lower online deposit limit checks for young adults, including a €150 monthly threshold for players up to 24 before extra operator contact is required.

That points to a more targeted path: tighter affordability checks, stronger ad enforcement, payment controls and faster action against illegal operators. Raising the legal age to 24 could also drive some young adults to unlicensed sites, a concern the KSA chairman raised when a 21 age limit for online slots was discussed in 2025.

Former state secretary Teun Struycken had earlier proposed raising the age for online slots to 21. Christian Union leader Bikker later questioned whether one vertical could be policed separately and suggested a wider age limit of 21 for all gambling.

Sümer is now asking other municipal representatives and parties to press national lawmakers. A 24 age limit would go beyond the usual European baseline of 18, so any reform would need strong enforcement. Without that, legal operators lose access to younger adults while illegal platforms remain a few clicks away.