Dutch regulator calls out 711 for making players wager deposits

The Netherlands Gambling Authority, the Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa), has called licensed operator 711 to account for requiring some customers to stake money they had deposited before they could withdraw it. The Ksa announced the case on 9 October 2026 and called the practice "zeer onwenselijk" (highly undesirable).

According to the regulator, the condition applied to customers who paid with methods other than an "ordinary" bank account. According to 711, the procedure was set up as part of its anti-money-laundering measures, the Ksa said.

What the Ksa says the rule is

The Ksa's position:

• Play-through conditions ("rondspeelvoorwaarden") are allowed only together with a bonus the operator offers, and even then under strict conditions.
• When a player asks to withdraw money they deposited, it has to be paid out straight away. Operators may not set structural conditions that stand in the way.
• A payout may be delayed for a money-laundering check, but only for as short a time as possible, and payment may not be suspended as a matter of routine.
• An operator may not require a deposit to be wagered, not even once.

The regulator's standing guidance on paying out player balances goes further. It names wagering requirements on deposited money as forbidden, and it bans minimum withdrawal amounts outright: "no minimum amount is allowed, not even a very small one such as a few euros" (translated from Dutch). Delays are allowed in specific cases, such as a source-of-funds check under the Dutch anti-money-laundering act (Wwft), a reasonable suspicion of fraud, or incorrect details given at registration. Charges such as a fee for running the account are allowed, provided the player was told about them in advance and they do not hold up the payout.

How it ended

After talks with the Ksa, 711 took measures to prevent a repeat. It also clarified that players who did not want to play their deposit through could have it refunded to their original payment method, the Ksa said. The regulator announced no fine and no formal order, but said it may act more strictly if 711 breaks the rules again.

The Ksa added that operators were informed of these payout rules in 2024 and that breaches like this should no longer happen. In August 2024 it ordered nine licensed operators to stop using banned payout conditions, such as minimum amounts and play-through requirements, and warned four more.

Why the money-laundering argument did not hold

Checking where money comes from is a legitimate task for a licensed operator, and the Ksa accepts that it can delay a payout. The difference is between a check and a rule. A source-of-funds check looks at one case and should end quickly. A standing requirement to gamble a deposit before cashing it out applies to everyone using a given payment method, and it asks players to place bets they did not want to make. That is the kind of structural condition the Ksa's guidance rules out.

711's record this year

This is not 711's first public case with the regulator in 2026. In a decision dated 26 May 2026, the Ksa fined 711 B.V. €886,000 for failing in its duty of care towards ten players between February 2022 and June 2024, including shortcomings in analysing their play, intervening and holding personal conversations. According to that decision, 711's Dutch online licence runs until 15 March 2027. For how the Ksa handles licence renewals, see our report on the Ksa's licence renewals.

What this means for players in the Netherlands

On a Dutch-licensed site, a wagering requirement may come attached to bonus money. It should not stand between you and your own deposit. If you deposit and want the money back without having taken a bonus, it should be paid out on request, with only short delays where a specific check applies, and with no minimum amount. Before you accept a bonus, read how its play-through works and whether it touches your deposit.

The rule described here is Dutch. Other countries regulate payouts in their own way. For other regulators' recent player-protection actions, see the UKGC's deposit-limit rules and the AGCO's penalty against theScore Bet over cash-out offers.

18+. If gambling has stopped feeling like a pastime, see responsible play.