Dutch regulator threatens Polymarket with €420K weekly fines for unlicensed gambling
Dutch gambling authorities have ordered U.S.-based website Polymarket to immediately cease all operations in the Netherlands, saying the company is operating gambling activity without a license. The site, which allows users to place bets on political events and global conflicts, faces a weekly fine of 420,000 euros if it continues to operate, up to a maximum of 840,000 euros, announced Netherlands gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa). Heavier fines based on revenue could come next if the company does not comply, the regulator said.
Polymarket has been frequently in the news in the Netherlands recent months, particularly regarding betting on the Dutch elections. Although Polymarket itself states that prediction markets do not fall under the category of gambling, the regulator has taken a different stance. After contacting the company about its illegal activities on the Dutch market, there has been no visible change, and the site remained readily available to bettors in the Netherlands, the authority said..
The Ksa stated that the action follows months of scrutiny after the site allowed Dutch residents to bet on the October 2025 parliamentary elections. Users could wager on which party would gain the most seats or who would become the next Prime Minister. According to reports, Dutch gamblers placed more than 32 million U.S. dollars on the elections, with over 10 million dollars on the PVV and nearly 6 million dollars on D66. The market in wagers predicting the most parliamentary seats attracted over 27 million dollars in bets.
A Ksa supervisor even placed a bet on D66 leader Rob Jetten to test how easily Dutch residents could access the platform, which is owned by Adventure One QSS Inc. “After previous contact with the company about its illegal activities on the Dutch market, no visible changes occurred, and the offerings remain available," the regulator stated. "Therefore, the Ksa is now imposing this coercive penalty. Additionally, a revenue-related fine may be imposed at a later stage.”
Polymarket describes itself as "the world's largest prediction market,” claiming users’ bets help generate more reliable forecasts than polls or research. The company acts as a go-between for gamblers who want to bet on specific outcomes of a wide variety of world events. However, under Dutch law, betting on political or news events is considered gambling, whether the wager is placed via a more traditional gambling site, or a prediction market.
"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," said Ella Seijsener, director of licensing and supervision at the Ksa.
Seijsener indicated that prediction markets were becoming more popular in the Netherlands, and globally, but a Ksa spokesperson noted that it is unclear how many Dutch users currently gamble on Polymarket. “We estimate that around 50,000 people searched for Polymarket last December. That seems like an underestimation. The site appears to be growing among Dutch users,” a Ksa spokesperson told RTL Nieuws.
The website has also drawn attention for offering bets on international conflicts, including whether Israel will launch another attack on Gaza and whether Russia will capture the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk before year-end. In Belgium, internet providers block Polymarket, but no such measures exist in the Netherlands.
Polymarket previously faced regulatory action in the United States, where it was fined 1.4 million dollars for operating without a gambling license. The company’s legal challenges in the U.S. were later paused under former President Donald Trump’s administration, and Trump’s son invested 10 million dollars in the company.
"Anyone without a Ksa license has no business in our market. This also applies to these new gambling platforms," Seijsener said in the statement.
