The Netherlands will increase fees for gambling licence applications and certain licence amendments from 1 April 2026, following a regulatory update published in the Dutch Government Gazette. The revised fee schedule applies to multiple gambling categories and reflects higher wage and price levels incorporated into the regulator’s 2026 budget.
The changes were formalised through a regulation issued by the State Secretary for Justice and Security, amending both the Gambling Implementation Decree and the Remote Gambling Regulation. According to the government, the revised fees are designed to ensure that the costs of processing licence applications remain fully covered.
Remote Gambling And Application Fees Revised
The most significant adjustment applies to remote gambling licences. The fee for processing an online gambling licence application will rise from €48,000 to €61,300. The higher amount will apply to new applicants as well as existing licensees that must submit a new application once their current licences expire.
Operators that entered the regulated online market at launch are approaching the end of their initial licence terms. Those seeking to continue operating will be required to reapply and will therefore be subject to the updated fee structure from April.
Other licence categories are also affected. Fees for non-incidental gambling licences will increase from €28,000 to €35,800. The cost of licences for large incidental games of chance, where prize pools exceed €500,000, will rise from €24,000 to €30,600. Smaller categories, including certain occasional games of chance, will also see index-linked increases.
Licence Amendments And Cost Recovery Rationale
Operators requesting substantive changes to their existing licences will face higher charges. Amendments that expand or replace authorised activities will cost €10,200, up from €8,000. Limited administrative changes, such as updates to licence-holder details, will continue to be charged at €100.
The explanatory notes accompanying the regulation stress that the fee framework is intended to be cost-covering. The updated tariffs are based on indexation linked to wage and price increases and assumptions in the gambling authority’s 2026 budget.
“Due to wage and price increases and the associated indexation, the fees associated with processing such applications are being adjusted,” stated the Government Gazette. “The costs associated with processing an application for a gambling license remain covered by the fee adjustment.”
Personnel expenses account for 83.5 percent of the regulator’s costs, with material expenses making up the remaining 16.5 percent.
Wider Regulatory Backdrop
The fee increases coincide with a more intensive supervisory approach outlined for 2026. The gambling authority has identified five priority areas, including illegal gambling, protection of vulnerable groups, duty of care, advertising oversight, and compliance with anti-money laundering rules.
The regulator has cited technological developments and the continued presence of illegal gambling offers as factors complicating oversight. These measures also come alongside recent gambling tax increases, which reached 37.8 percent at the start of this year, adding to the overall cost base for operators in the Dutch market.
Source:
“Government Gazette of the Kingdom of the Netherlands”, zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl, January 23, 2026
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