Environment plays major role in underage gambling
A new Trimbos report describes how young people come into contact with gambling products despite the ban.
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Minors are not allowed to gamble in the Netherlands, but some still manage to access gambling products. According to a new overview by the Trimbos Institute, friends, family, advertising and the availability of online products all play a role.
On Monday, the Trimbos Institute published a report on environmental factors influencing the gambling behaviour of young people aged 10 to 18. The report describes, among other things, the possible role of friends, family, advertising and online availability.
The researchers describe how young people can find different routes to gambling products, both online and offline. These include social situations, sports betting, games of chance in their surroundings and the use of other people’s accounts. According to the Kansspelautoriteit, the age limit of 18 remains fully in force.
According to Trimbos, the environment matters because gambling is not just an individual choice. Young people may be invited by friends, see gambling behaviour at home or be exposed online to messages presenting gambling as normal or attractive. The institute stresses that such factors can reinforce one another, without creating the same risk for every young person.
The Kansspelautoriteit previously stated that minors only exceptionally get past the checks carried out by legal providers. That statement concerns the checks performed by legal providers. The regulator is concerned about the normalisation of gambling among young people.
The report contains no evidence that every form of exposure automatically leads to problematic gambling behaviour. Nor does it provide a new nationwide estimate of the number of minors currently gambling. Earlier Trimbos figures, based on self-reporting, showed that some 16- and 17-year-olds had gambled online during the period studied.
The researchers emphasise a broad approach. In their view, this should consist not only of age checks, but also of attention to advertising, social norms, parenting, education and the design of gambling products. That is a policy choice; the report itself does not prescribe any single measure as the sole solution.
The report does not change any medical or legal rule for parents or young people. It mainly shows why enforcing an age limit remains complicated when gambling products are present in the social and digital environment. According to Trimbos, the precise scale of the problem should be monitored through additional research.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- Minors are not allowed to gamble in the Netherlands.
- The Trimbos Institute describes social and digital environmental factors that can facilitate access to gambling.
- The Kansspelautoriteit supervises legal providers and reports that minors only exceptionally get through their checks.
- The nationwide scale of underage gambling has not been fully established by a single new measurement.
Left
Arguments Typically stresses that protecting young people should take precedence over commercial freedom. From this perspective, tighter advertising restrictions, limits on gambling products and more public prevention are defensible.
Values Equal protection, public health and reducing commercial influence on vulnerable groups.
Consequences Less exposure and potentially less harm, but also higher implementation costs and less scope for providers and sports funding.
Centre
Arguments Emphasises effective age checks, supervision and targeted prevention, while allowing legal providers to continue operating within clear limits.
Values Proportionality, practicality and protection based on demonstrable risks.
Consequences A combination of enforcement and prevention may be more feasible than a total ban, but requires continued data and supervision.
Right
Arguments Often stresses the responsibility of parents, providers and individuals and warns against broad bans that also restrict adults.
Values Personal responsibility, freedom of choice and restrained government intervention.
Consequences Targeted enforcement can limit the burden, but critics fear that social and commercial influences on young people would then not be addressed sufficiently.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The main points come directly from the new Trimbos report and earlier information from the Kansspelautoriteit. The text clearly distinguishes between new findings and older self-reported figures.
- confirmed Minors are not allowed to gamble in the Netherlands. — This is stated by the Kansspelautoriteit. source
- confirmed Trimbos published a report on 19 October 2026 about environmental factors affecting young people aged 10 to 18. — The report page gives the publication date and age group. source
- confirmed Friends, family, advertising and online availability can play a role. — These factors are described in the report. source
- confirmed The Kansspelautoriteit says that minors only exceptionally get through the checks carried out by legal providers. — This is the central point of the summary of the Ksa study. source
- confirmed Earlier self-reported figures recorded online gambling among less than 20 per cent of 16- and 17-year-olds during a particular research period. — Trimbos cites this figure and period on its figures page. source
Editor's note
The new report concerns environmental factors, not a new nationwide measurement. The available figures are partly based on self-reporting and are not necessarily representative of all young people.Sources
- Omgevingsfactoren in relatie tot gokgedrag van minderjarige jongeren — Trimbos-instituut
- Onderzoek deelname legale online kansspelen door minderjarigen afgerond — Kansspelautoriteit
- Cijfers gokken onder minderjarigen — Trimbos-instituut
More on this in Dutch media
- Het Parool — „gokken minderjarigen”
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- NRC — „gokken minderjarigen”