Dutch Regulator Orders Polymarket to Cease Operations Under Threat of €420,000 Weekly Penalty
The Hague, Tuesday 17 February 2026
The Dutch gambling authority has classified prediction markets as illegal gambling, ordering US-based Polymarket to exit the Netherlands immediately or face €420,000 in weekly fines. This regulatory crackdown follows reports of Dutch users wagering over $32 million on the 2025 elections via the unlicensed platform.
Enforcement Actions and Financial Penalties
The Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa) has formally issued a ‘last onder dwangsom’ (order subject to a penalty) against Adventure One QSS Inc., the parent entity of Polymarket, for providing illegal gambling services [2][4]. The regulator has stipulated a coercive penalty of €420,000 per week should the platform fail to cease its unlicensed offering of games of chance to Dutch consumers [1][2]. This cumulative penalty is capped at a maximum of €840,000, implying that the platform has a mere 2 weeks of non-compliance before reaching the full financial ceiling of this specific enforcement measure [1][2]. The Ksa has indicated that this action became necessary after previous contact with the company regarding its illegal activities yielded no visible changes to their service offerings [1][2].
Defining Prediction Markets as Gambling
At the core of this regulatory intervention is a fundamental disagreement regarding the classification of the service. While Adventure One QSS Inc. positions Polymarket as a prediction ecosystem, the Ksa has firmly rejected this distinction, categorising the platform’s activities as games of chance [3]. The authority argues that wagering money on ‘objectively uncertain events’—such as international conflicts or award show winners—requires a specific licence that Polymarket does not possess [5]. Ella Seijsener, the Ksa’s Director of Licensing and Supervision, emphasised that such platforms have ‘no place’ on the Dutch market without oversight, explicitly citing societal risks such as the potential for these markets to influence election outcomes [1][2].
The Scale of Unregulated Engagement
The urgency of the regulator’s intervention appears driven by the platform’s rapid adoption during the Dutch parliamentary elections of October 2025 [1]. Data reveals that Dutch participants wagered over $32 million on the election outcomes via the platform, highlighting a significant capital flow into this unregulated sector [1]. Specific betting pools saw substantial volume, with over $10 million wagered on the PVV and nearly $6 million on D66 [1]. This surge in activity was not isolated; the regulator estimates that approximately 50,000 individuals in the Netherlands searched for Polymarket in December 2025 alone, a figure the Ksa suggests may even be an underestimation of the platform’s actual growth among Dutch users [1].
Global Context and Future Liabilities
This enforcement action aligns with a broader trend of regulatory scrutiny facing the platform, which previously paid a $1.4 million fine to United States regulators for operating without a licence [1]. However, the Dutch authority warns that the current weekly penalty order may not be the extent of the financial repercussions. The Ksa has explicitly stated that a separate, revenue-related fine could be imposed at a later stage to address the revenue already generated from Dutch users [1][2]. This bifurcated approach—using a coercive penalty to force immediate compliance and a potential administrative fine to punish past conduct—demonstrates the Ksa’s aggressive stance against unlicensed actors in the digital economy [2].