The Dutch Gaming Authority has published three studies showing that gambling is becoming socially normalised among minors and young adults before they reach the legal age of 18.
One study analysed newly funded accounts between 1 and 7 May 2025 and identified 15,761 registrations. Young adults aged 18 to 24 accounted for 33% of new accounts, with 41% of those opened by newly turned 18-year-olds.
During 2024-25, 11% of accounts opened by 18-year-olds were registered on their birthday, while 38% were opened within a month. Casino games were the most common entry point. Around 72% of young adult accounts began with casino products, compared with 11% starting with sports betting.
Young adults averaged four gambling days per month during their first quarter. Their median daily stake was €111, compared with €209 among older adults. The KSA also found that 18-year-olds gambled more frequently than those aged 19 to 24, but generally at lower stakes.
Early exposure often starts through family and social activities
A separate qualitative study involving 50 people aged 16 to 21 found that first exposure to gambling commonly occurred between ages eight and 12. These experiences often involved Christmas scratchcards, lotteries or informal betting games at home. Most participants did not identify those activities as gambling at the time.
Independent gambling typically began between ages 12 and 14 and was often social. Activities included poker, football pools and betting with friends. Researchers found that this environment helped normalise gambling behaviour before adulthood.
Some minors reportedly bypassed age restrictions by using accounts belonging to older friends or family members and pooling money through payment apps such as Tikkie. TOTO, Bet365, BetCity and Unibet were among platforms mentioned by participants, alongside gambling advertising seen on TikTok, sports broadcasts and outdoor media.
The Dutch cabinet proposed a near-total ban on online gambling advertising in June. “I find it particularly concerning that more and more people, and especially young people, have started gambling online and are getting into trouble as a result,” Van Bruggen said announcing the measures in June. “It is high time to reverse this trend.”
Students generally gamble infrequently but online use raises risk
Another KSA-backed study examined survey responses from 29,724 MBO students aged 15 to 24 between 2024 and 2026. Around 32% said they had gambled during the previous year, including 28% of minors aged 15 to 17 and 39% of adults.
Most gambling was infrequent. “Once or a few times a year” was the most common frequency, reported by 74% of minors and 61% of adults, while 10% gambled monthly or more. Minors mainly used physical products, including scratchcards, bingo and slot machines. Adults were more likely to use casino games, scratchcards and sports betting.
Nearly half of minors who gambled did so only through physical outlets, while young adults were more likely to combine physical and online channels. About half of gambling minors and two-thirds of gambling adults used higher-risk products such as casino games, sports betting and slot machines.
Around 2% showed signs of gambling-related harm, with online participation and use of multiple products associated with greater risk.
Political debate grows over raising the minimum gambling age
The findings arrive amid calls to raise the legal age for online gambling. Meryam Sümer of the Christian Democratic Party recently proposed increasing the minimum age from 18 to 24 after research found that one in five young people in Enschede was in debt.
“The key is to reduce temptations,” she said. The proposal has drawn opposition from the KSA. Its chairman previously warned that raising the legal age could push younger consumers towards illegal operators.
“We already see minors doing so. And for young people under 21, the illegal supply will still be accessible with a few mouse clicks, while they will no longer be able to enter legal parties, which must adhere to a strict duty of care,” he wrote in a blog in February 2025.
The KSA findings show that gambling exposure is starting well before the legal age through family habits, social groups and youth-facing media. Raising the age may reduce some legal access, but the bigger challenge is tackling early normalisation without pushing more young people towards illegal platforms.
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