On 6 July 2026, the Netherlands Gambling Authority (Kansspelautoriteit, KSA) published updated guidance on the means test that Dutch-licensed online operators must run when a player asks to deposit more than €300 net (age 18–24) or €700 net (age 25 and over) in a calendar month. The core change: a higher limit can now only be justified by the player's structural income — recurring earnings such as salary, pension or comparable regular receipts. Savings, business assets, home equity and one-off payments are excluded from the affordability calculation. A parallel review of 20 licensed operators produced 10 improvement interviews, 3 formal warnings and 1 binding instruction. We explain what actually changed, why the KSA moved now, and what non-Dutch players should read into it.
What the KSA changed on 6 July 2026
The 6 July 2026 guidance narrows what counts as "income" for the purpose of raising a monthly deposit limit. Only recurring inflows now qualify: salary, pension, annuities and comparable predictable receipts. One-off sums — bonuses, gifts, asset sales, inheritance — are ruled out of the affordability assessment. The regulator noted that the earlier wording had been read inconsistently, and in practice some operators had counted savings and residential property values, which artificially inflated the limits they could approve. The update takes effect from the date of publication, with no transition period.
How the Dutch means test actually works at €300 and €700
Since October 2024, Dutch-licensed casinos have been required to trigger a means test when a player asks to exceed a calendar-month net deposit of €300 (age 18–24) or €700 (age 25 and over). The player completes a form stating their regular income and attaches supporting documents — typically payslips or a formal income statement. The operator reviews the documents and decides on the raised limit. Without passing the means test, the player cannot deposit above the threshold that month, regardless of how much they withdraw during the same period.
What counts as structural income and why savings do not
The KSA frames structural income as recurring inflows that are reasonably predictable over the coming months. In practice this means the operator must justify the limit only against sums the player receives on a stable monthly cadence: salary, self-employment revenue with a documented pattern, or pension. Savings, inheritances, car sales or one-off bonuses do not count. In our view this is the right line: it separates "what a person earns" from "what a person owns," and only the former can be a durable base for recurring entertainment spending. The regulator's rationale is direct — gambling should not be financed from savings, because burning through savings sharply increases the risk of problem gambling.
What the 20-operator review found and what the binding instruction requires
After the first version of the guidance in 2025, the KSA sampled 20 licensed operators. The finding: none of them was applying the means test in full compliance with the updated standard. The audit produced 10 improvement interviews with compliance leads, 3 formal warnings and 1 binding instruction. The binding instruction went to bet365, which operates in the Netherlands through Hillside New Media Malta: the regulator gave the company four weeks to properly document risk signals, ground each limit decision in verifiable evidence, and apply intervention measures when such a signal appears. In our reading this is a deliberately visible sanction — the KSA picked a large international operator to set the bar for the rest of the market.
Do deposits, withdrawals or bonuses change inside the thresholds?
No. Players who stay within €300 net (18–24) or €700 net (25+) per calendar month are not subject to a means test at all — no extra documents, no processing delay. Withdrawal mechanics and bonus terms do not change for any segment as of 10 July 2026. What has changed: raising the limit is now materially harder than it was in 2025, and an operator will no longer accept a savings account or "family support" as justification. Players who previously supported a higher limit with savings will be refused on the next request and will need to submit proof of regular income instead.
Why this matters outside the Netherlands
The KSA model has become one of the two most cited references for affordability testing in the EU — alongside the UK Financial Risk Assessments the UKGC confirmed on 7 July 2026. Germany's GGL already runs a centralised LUGAS register with a federal €1,000 monthly deposit cap across all licensed operators. Spain's DGOJ approved a €700 weekly deposit ceiling in June 2026. The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), on our reading, is studying the Dutch approach closely. For internationally-active players, the takeaway is straightforward: the industry standard for affordability is coalescing around structural income rather than net wealth, and that direction is unlikely to reverse.
- Stay within €300 net (18–24) or €700 net (25+) per month on Dutch-licensed sites — no means test, no document request.
- If you need a higher limit, prepare proof of recurring income in advance: three months of payslips, an employer letter, or a pension statement.
- Do not try to justify a higher limit with savings, inheritance or family support — as of 6 July 2026 those are formally excluded.
- Different EU regulators use different thresholds and standards; do not assume experience from another jurisdiction transfers automatically to the Dutch market.
- Track the official KSA site — the broader compliance report is scheduled by end of Q4 2026 and will likely refine the documentation flow for operators.