The Dutch gambling regulator treats these platforms as unlicensed games of chance and has ordered the largest one to stop serving residents.
Last reviewed 19 May 2026 · Status as of May 2026 · Information, not legal advice
As of May 2026, prediction markets are not legal to offer in the Netherlands. The Kansspelautoriteit, the national gambling regulator known as the KSA, classes betting style prediction markets as games of chance that need a Dutch licence, and no prediction market holds one. In January 2026 the KSA ordered Polymarket to stop serving Dutch residents, and a penalty payment of 420,000 euro followed when the platform withdrew one day past the deadline.
Dutch gambling law works from a licensing model. Under the Remote Gambling Act, known in Dutch as the Wet kansspelen op afstand or KOA Act, only operators that hold a KSA licence may offer games of chance to people in the Netherlands. Prediction markets, which let people stake money on political, economic, or other event outcomes, are treated by the regulator as games of chance. Because no prediction market holds a Dutch licence, offering these markets to Dutch residents is unlawful.
The trigger was the October 2025 parliamentary election. Dutch traders staked more than 32 million dollars across election markets on Polymarket, including large sums on the party expected to win the most seats. The scale of that activity drew the KSA in, and on 20 January 2026 the regulator issued a penalty order telling Polymarket to cease serving Dutch residents within four weeks or face a fine of up to 840,000 euro, set at 420,000 euro per week.
Polymarket did withdraw from the Dutch market, but the regulator found it complied one day after the deadline. On that narrow basis the KSA published a collection decision on 16 June 2026 imposing a single penalty payment of 420,000 euro rather than the larger sums earlier headlines suggested. For a Netherlands resident the practical position is clear. No prediction market is licensed, the leading venue has been pushed out, and reaching a service the regulator has blocked carries both legal and financial risk.
No prediction market holds a Dutch gambling licence. The platforms below are listed so you can see where each one stands, not as places a Netherlands resident can legally sign up.
Kalshi is a United States designated contract market overseen by the CFTC and is built around United States access. It holds no Dutch gambling licence and offers no licensed route to residents of the Netherlands. See the Kalshi profile.
Polymarket is a crypto settled prediction market. The KSA ordered it to stop serving Dutch residents in January 2026 and later imposed a penalty payment. It is not licensed in the Netherlands. See the Polymarket profile.
The Crypto.com event contract product is a United States CFTC listed offering and is not licensed for residents of the Netherlands. Read the Crypto.com Sports and Events profile.
Platform positions are as of May 2026 and can change. We link to a platform only where it is genuinely available to a reader, and Netherlands is not such a place for these products. Reachability is not the same as legality.
Gambling in the Netherlands is supervised by the Kansspelautoriteit. Prediction markets are not among the products it licenses, and it has acted against the largest operator. Confirm the current position with the KSA directly before relying on anything here.
Status as of May 2026. We never invent a citation, and where a position is contested we mark it as contested.
Using a blocked or unlicensed service does not make it safe, and it can expose you to loss with little recourse. Prediction markets can lose you money. Stake only what you can afford to lose, never to chase a loss, and never on borrowed money. If gambling stops feeling like a free choice, step back and seek support from a problem gambling service in your country.
No. As of May 2026 the Kansspelautoriteit classes prediction markets as unlicensed games of chance, and no prediction market holds a Dutch licence. This is general information, not legal advice.
Yes. The KSA ordered Polymarket to stop serving Dutch residents on 20 January 2026 and later imposed a 420,000 euro penalty payment after the platform withdrew one day late.
The Kansspelautoriteit, known as the KSA, supervises gambling in the Netherlands. Operators must hold a Dutch licence, and the licensed market does not include prediction or event contracts.
The regulator investigated heavy wagering on the October 2025 Dutch parliamentary election, where traders staked more than 32 million dollars, and concluded the markets were unlicensed games of chance.
Because no prediction market is genuinely legal and available to a Netherlands resident. We only show an open account or compare path where a platform is licensed and available to you.