Legal Online Casinos in the Netherlands: What Should You Look Out For?
As a licensed online casino, Starcasino explains in detail on this page exactly what you should look for before creating an account anywhere. We explain when a casino is legal, how you can verify a license yourself with the Gaming Authority, and what our own status entails. Within five minutes, you’ll know exactly what to look for.
When is an online casino legal in the Netherlands?
An online casino in the Netherlands is legal if it holds a valid license from the Gaming Authority (Ksa). These licenses are granted under the Remote Gambling Act (Koa Act). The law took effect on April 1, 2021, after which operators were able to apply for a license for the first time.
Exactly six months later, on October 1, 2021, the regulated market officially opened its doors. At that time, the Ksa issued the first licenses, and licensed providers were able to go live. Whether an online casino in the Netherlands is legal therefore depends on exactly one criterion: a valid license from the Ksa.
Brand recognition, a professional-looking website, or the technical ability to accept Dutch players do not, in and of themselves, indicate legality. Only a licensed casino listed in the Ksa’s public registry can definitively determine which online casinos are legal and which are not.
Every legal online casino displays its license number prominently on the site. However, such a license is not merely a formality. It entails specific obligations, which we’ll discuss in more detail below.
Why is a Ksa license important for a legal casino in the Netherlands?
A license is much more than just a label on the website of every legal casino in the Netherlands. It requires operators to conduct strict identity verification for every player before any wagers can be placed. In addition, every new registration must be automatically checked against Cruks, the central self-exclusion registry. This ensures that players who have self-excluded from any legal casino cannot open a new account.
In addition, the rules of the Act on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Wwft) apply. The Ksa also actively monitors compliance and can impose fines or even revoke licenses. For you as a player, the practical benefit of a reliable online casino is that a licensed provider cannot simply disappear with your balance or refuse to pay out your winnings. There is a regulatory body behind the scenes that actually enforces the rules and always guarantees your money.
Safe online gambling in the Netherlands at a legal casino
At a licensed casino, you experience tangible protection—not just principles on paper. Every new registration is checked against the Cruks registry before the account is activated. This ensures that online gambling in the Netherlands is legally restricted to adults who are not barred from gambling.
Your identity and age are verified before you can place bets. In practice, this is usually done via an ID scan, as it’s fast and automated. However, the law itself does not prescribe a specific method, and manual document verification is an accepted alternative.
Deposit limits also apply. New players at legal online casinos in the Netherlands are automatically assigned a standard limit of €350 per month (€150 for young adults aged 18 to 24). If you want to set a higher limit, you must first have a mandatory in-person conversation with the provider. During this conversation, you’ll be made aware of the risks. You can find more about these tools on our page responsible gaming.
If your net deposit exceeds €700 per month (€300 for young adults), the provider must also assess whether you can financially afford this. This is typically done based on proof of income. Only then can the higher limit be approved.
Finally, every online casino must legally demonstrate that it holds a Dutch license. As required by the Koa Act, this is done by displaying the word mark “License Holder: Gaming Authority” and the license number. These are the rules you encounter every day as a player.
Starcasino.nl as a Legal Online Casino in the Netherlands
A simple and valid question to ask is whether Starcasino operates legally in the Netherlands. The fact that this legal online casino is permitted to operate is not an empty claim. The license is held by the Belgian legal entity Green Island N.V. (company number BE 0422.851.308). On October 15, 2024, we received license number 2389 from the Gaming Authority.
You’ll find this number, as well as the Ksa’s official license holder logo, in the footer of our online casino in the Netherlands. It includes a hyperlink so you can verify it directly in the Ksa’s public registry and the gambling guide on openovergokken.nl.
It also confirms that we are a legal provider offering online casino games under the license holder’s authorization, as well as online sports betting . As described above, there are also mandatory identity and Cruks checks, as well as deposit limits and oversight.
Since every detail—from the entity name to the license number—is publicly verifiable with the KSA, you don’t have to take our word for it. Feel free to verify it yourself before creating an account at this legal online casino in the Netherlands.
Legal vs. Illegal Online Casinos: What’s the Difference?
The difference between an illegal and a legal online casino isn’t in how the site looks, but in what happens if something goes wrong. An illegal casino has no connection to Cruks, which means a self-exclusion you’ve set up elsewhere won’t apply there. And that undermines precisely the purpose for which legal casinos in the Netherlands are required to be affiliated with Cruks.
There is also no independent oversight of the fairness of the games, no guarantee that a dispute will be handled fairly, and no regulatory body you can turn to if a payout is refused or delayed. Furthermore, illegal casinos do not pay gambling taxes on your winnings, whereas a legal online casino pays this on your behalf, ensuring that your winnings always belong to you.
Some illegal operators do indeed hold a license, but it’s a foreign one that doesn’t apply to Dutch players. At first glance, such a site may appear legitimate, but it offers no actual protection. This is in contrast to a legal casino in the Netherlands with a KSA license.
This is why legal casinos in the Netherlands feel so much more trustworthy once you know what to look out for. The fact that an online casino operates legally in the Netherlands is a meaningful guarantee. This isn’t just a theoretical risk, because the KSA actively investigates and fines providers who offer games of chance to Dutch players without a license. It’s advisable to check for yourself at every legal Dutch online casino whether a provider has a valid Ksa license, rather than relying on how professional a site looks.