Dutch gambling authorities have intensified enforcement activity across multiple cases, ordering the prediction market platform Polymarket to stop operating in the Netherlands while also pursuing payment of an earlier penalty involving a charitable lottery operator. Both matters highlight the regulator’s position on licensing requirements, consumer protection, and financial transparency within the country’s gambling framework.

Polymarket Ordered to Stop Dutch Operations

The Netherlands Gambling Authority concluded that Adventure One QSS Inc., which runs Polymarket, offered gambling-style services to Dutch consumers without holding the required licence. Regulators instructed the company to halt activities immediately. Failure to comply could trigger fines of €420,000 per week, capped at €840,000, with the possibility of additional revenue-related sanctions later.

Investigators found that Dutch users could access the platform through local IP addresses, open accounts, deposit funds, and place wagers. Payments were reportedly accepted through Dutch banks, including transactions processed with Mastercard, while instructions appeared in Dutch and euros were used as the payment currency. The Netherlands also did not appear among excluded jurisdictions in the site’s terms of use, and customer support operated in Dutch.

Authorities further observed betting markets linked to domestic politics, including forecasts related to cabinet developments. Regulators spent several months examining prediction markets associated with the October 2025 parliamentary elections. Dutch bettors reportedly staked more than $32 million on those elections, including over $10 million on Geert Wilders’ PVV party and almost $6 million on Democrats 66. A specific market predicting which party would win the most seats attracted over $27 million in wagers.

Polymarket rejected the classification of its platform as gambling, arguing: “Polymarket is a prediction market where users trade positions with each other; pricing and settlement come from market dynamics and protocol contract logic, not from a chance mechanism designed by the operator,” Polymarket said. “The result is not purely chance, but (also) the product of informed decision-making and active trading choices.”

The company also maintained that accessibility from the Netherlands represented passive availability rather than targeted marketing, describing certain elements as “insufficient” to demonstrate active targeting. Regulators disagreed and confirmed that offering such markets without a licence breached national law. The order requires cessation within four weeks of the January 20 ruling.

Ella Seijsener, director of licensing and supervision, stated in the regulator’s press release: “Prediction markets are on the rise, including in the Netherlands. These types of companies offer bets that are not permitted in our market under any circumstances, not even by license holders. Besides the social risks of these kinds of predictions (for example, the potential influence on elections), we conclude that this constitutes illegal gambling. Anyone without a Ksa license has no business in our market. This also applies to these new gambling platforms.”

In a separate statement she added: “These types of companies offer bets that are not permitted in our market under any circumstances, not even by licence holders. Besides the social risks of these kinds of predictions — for example, the potential influence on elections — we conclude that this constitutes illegal gambling. Anyone without a licence has no business in our market. This also applies to these new gambling platforms.”

Authorities also noted increasing interest in prediction markets domestically, with estimates suggesting about 50,000 online searches for Polymarket during December. Officials said the platform “appears to be growing among Dutch users.”

The company has encountered regulatory scrutiny elsewhere. A US derivatives regulator imposed a $1.4 million civil penalty in January 2022 related to event-based contracts, requiring operational adjustments. French authorities also geo-blocked the platform in late 2024 for offering online gaming services without authorization.

Separate Enforcement Over Charity Lottery Fine

In a different case, Dutch regulators have started enforcement proceedings to recover an unpaid €60,000 fine imposed on the Path of Natural Energy Foundation. The penalty followed findings that the organisation failed to supply financial documentation demonstrating that lottery proceeds supported declared charitable causes.

Dutch rules require lottery organisers to allocate 40 percent of proceeds to charitable purposes once the lottery concludes. Authorities reported repeated requests for financial transparency went unanswered, prompting further legal action. The matter has now been transferred to the Public Prosecution Service for investigation.

The regulator explained its reasoning publicly: “The KSA considers it important to publish payment refusals because they can indicate that the foundation in question is unreliable,” explained the regulator. “This publication serves to warn consumers and other parties about the business practices of the lottery provider in question.”

These enforcement measures form part of ongoing regulatory oversight intended to ensure licensed gambling activity operates within Dutch law and that charitable lottery proceeds remain accountable.