Inside and outside CRUKS: how Dutch players navigate their choices

Finding a casino not on exclusion programs system is not necessarily about bypassing the system, but about personal choice and responsibility, as well as exploring what’s on offer beyond geographical borders. But where can you find casinos outside the system which still offer a quality product?

To the bulk of the populace, gambling is harmless fun. A great way to relax after a busy week, or to seek a thrill in a life of boredom and routine. But sometimes, unforeseen things arise, and gambling becomes a distraction. In the Netherlands, the CRUKS system has helped thousands of people beat the gambling blues.

This is an overall net positive, but it’s not always as cut and dried. The Centraal Register Uitsluiting Kansspelen (Central Register for the Exclusion of Games of Chance in English) is an exclusionary register which every licensed casino needs to check to make sure people on the register are not playing, but some people are not on the system voluntarily. Their freedom to participate in an otherwise free pastime may have been unjustly curtailed. Finding global casinos outside this structure is a way for players to gain back their autonomy.

The magic of the internet will give you pages upon pages of casinos not conforming to the CRUKS system, but nobody can be assured of the quality of these casinos. Fortunately, there is a resource where you can find Casinos Zonder Cruks which will provide a curated list of quality casinos, what kinds of games are available, how sign-up works, and what sets these international casinos apart from their Dutch counterparts.

These sites break down which casinos offer the widest game selections, how bonuses really work, and what kind of player experience you can expect.

We’ve all doomscrolled Instagram long after we were supposed to have turned off the lights. We’ve all got involved with Facebook arguments or watched Twitter flame wars when we should have been doing something else. The same holds true for gambling. It is quite easy to sign yourself up to self-limiting systems when in a situation where quality of attention was needed. Maybe a study break. Maybe crunch time at work, or busy time in your life. In these circumstances, abstinence helps you focus on the task at hand.

And you would not be alone. There are an estimated 788,000 registered players in the Dutch gaming market, and around 75,000 of them, 9.5%, are registered on these exclusion systems. Some people are signed up for a mere six months; others, for the maximum amount of 99 years.

But life does not always follow the same pattern. Exams end and work stress eases up. But an exclusion can stubbornly endure. This is where freedom of choice matters.

The appeal of exploring beyond the exclusionary wall is simple: it’s all about freedom of choice. Some people prefer not to be tied to a national register. Some want the flexibility to decide for themselves when and where they want to play.

International platforms provide these opportunities, and their offerings can look very different to what the licensed Dutch operators have on offer. There are more interesting bonuses, daily promotions that one cannot find elsewhere or you may just be curious to see what the broader global market has to offer.

And this global appetite is growing. The Dutch online gambling market generated around €1.47 billion in gross gaming revenue in 2024, up 6% from 2023.

The decision boils down to autonomy. Some people like to swim inside the protection of the shark nets, while others prefer the open ocean. There is no right or wrong here, just a different way of play but forming part of a bigger picture of a fast-growing market where freedom of choice matters.

The Dutch gambling landscape shows how regulation and freedom can exist side by side. Exclusion systems have proven valuable for players who want structure and a safety net, but not everyone fits into the same mold.

Some prefer the reassurance of limits; others prefer the variety and openness of international platforms. Together they form a market that is both expanding and diversifying, worth more than €1.4 billion and still growing. This is not a matter of restriction or risk, it’s about players shaping their own experiences.