Hard Rock Casino Netherlands Gets Approval To Add Sports Betting
SpinCore Group, the Malta-headquartered operator behind Hard Rock Casino Netherlands, has received regulatory approval from the Dutch gambling authority, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), to add sports betting to its online casino licence.
The company said the approval is effective from September 12, 2026, extending its existing permit to a second vertical.
Second Product On An Existing Licence
iCasino B.V., the Netherlands-registered company that operates the Hard Rock Casino NL brand, first secured its online casino licence from the KSA on May 22, 2024, a grant valid through May 21, 2029 under the Dutch Gambling Act.
SpinCore has no association with Hard Rock Digital, the separate international brand run by Hard Rock International, and operates Hard Rock Casino purely as a Netherlands-focused platform.
"This marks another exciting chapter in the journey of Hard Rock Casino Netherlands and represents an important step forward in our ambition to deliver an even more complete online gaming experience," SpinCore said in a statement announcing the approval.
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Crowded Licence Cycle
The expansion lands during a packed renewal period for the KSA.
In early September 2026, the regulator approved five-year licence renewals for several of the online casinos active in the Dutch market since 2021, including TOTO, Holland Casino, Bingoal, GGPoker, bet365 and BetCity.
Hard Rock Casino's new sportsbook now competes directly in that same renewed field. The timing matters because the Dutch market carries some of the toughest cost pressures in regulated Europe.
Operators pay a 38.7% tax on gross gaming revenue, and 2025 estimates put channelisation to licensed platforms at only around 49%, meaning roughly half of Dutch gambling spend still flows to unlicensed, offshore sites.
Responsible play tools and self-exclusion options remain a condition of every KSA licence, a safeguard the regulator continues to push as it conducts compliance checks across the market, as detailed further on Gambling.com's responsible gambling resource.
Advertising Ban Still To Come
Dutch policymakers are also moving toward a full ban on gambling advertising, a change that will limit how newly approved products such as Hard Rock's sportsbook can be marketed to new customers once it takes effect.
The country's main trade body for regulated operators, VNLOK, has separately taken Meta to court over what it describes as widespread illegal gambling advertising reaching Dutch consumers through the platform, arguing that unlicensed offshore operators face none of the restrictions binding licensed brands.
Hard Rock Casino Netherlands' sports betting site launch is a test of whether an established online casino brand can grow a new betting vertical while absorbing the two biggest cost pressures facing every KSA licence holder: a high GGR tax rate and marketing rules that are about to get considerably tighter.
The KSA's own public register entry for iCasino B.V. confirms the underlying remote gambling licence the new sportsbook operates under.
