Member of Parliament Anne Kuik is working on a bill to end legal online gambling in the Netherlands. She criticized the risk of debt and addiction among young people and condemned online gambling companies for prioritizing profit over the protection of players.

Online gambling became legally permitted in the Netherlands in October 2021, following the adoption of the Remote Gambling Act after years of political debate. According to figures from the Gambling Authority, the market exploded. Over one in 20 Netherlands residents gambled on a legal site last year.

“As a result of the law, gambling has been normalized and young people have been driven into a world of addiction. We have to suppress that now,” Kuik wrote. She reported that the number of people with a gambling addiction has sharply increased, notably among young adults.