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Candidates from the VVD party urged the government to take a “harder stance” against these big tech platforms.

Some politicians stated their opinion that the legal gambling age in the Netherlands should be increased to 21 from the current barrier of 18 years old.

This isn’t the first time this policy has been mooted in the Dutch parliament. A 2025 bill proposed raising the age for “higher-risk” activities like online slots.

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David further emphasised the impact such a tax rise would have on high street workers and communities.

“They are people losing their jobs and communities losing long-established high-street businesses,” David wrote.

“These jobs matter. They matter particularly in communities where good local employment can be difficult to find.”

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While the intention is to protect vulnerable households and ensure welfare is spent on essential needs, proposed measures are being complicated by legal, technical and privacy obstacles.

Harris Tsangarides, executive director of the Gaming & Casino Supervision Commission, said his department had noticed spikes in gambling activity coinciding with GMI payment dates, prompting the regulator to consider “technical solution” to cross-reference GMI beneficiary lists with casino membership records.

An issue raised by Giannis Vasiliadis, director of WBAS, was the limited access to recipients’ banking information. This limited data can hint at suspicious activity but cannot conclusively verify gambling transactions.