Two routes lead to the same exclusion: online at cruksregister.nl with DigiD, or by returning a paper form by post. Both end in exactly the same block at every licensed operator in the Netherlands. The difference is only in how long it takes to take effect. Registering is free, and the decision is entirely yours: no one else's permission is required and no operator has a say in it.
Below is what you need before you start, how each route runs step by step, what changes in the hours after registration at operators where you already hold an account, and the choice you make about term while registering. The one design point to keep in mind: you choose the length yourself, but the legal minimum is six months and that floor cannot be shortened. If you do not have DigiD — a real gap for many expats — the counter route below is the one that applies to you.
What you need before you start
For the online route you need DigiD, using whichever login method you already use for it. For the counter route, valid photo identification. That is the whole list: there is no operator form, no account number and no proof of play history to submit. The register does not ask why you are registering.
What helps is deciding on the term before you begin, since that choice is not easily undone once registration is complete. That is not a bureaucratic inconvenience; it is the entire point of the instrument.
The online route, step by step
- Go to the register itself
Registration happens on the CRUKS website. There is no intermediary that arranges this for you, and a site offering to do it for a fee is offering something other than what it claims.
- Log in with DigiD
The register needs to establish with certainty who you are. Without reliable identification an operator could not later check you against the register, which would make the registration worthless.
- Check your details
Your name and date of birth come from the source DigiD is based on. If something is out of date — after a name change, for instance — that is resolved with the body that holds the record, not with the register.
- Choose the term
Six months is the legal minimum. You can choose longer. What a longer term means in practice is covered on cancelling a CRUKS registration.
- Confirm and keep your registration number
You complete the registration and receive confirmation with a personal CRUKS number. Store it somewhere you will find it again: it is your reference for questions about the registration and for a later cancellation request.
The counter route: why it exists
The second route is a paper form that you complete and return by post. This route is not a fallback; it exists because the online route does not work for everyone.
The counter is the practical option if you do not have DigiD — the ordinary situation for anyone who has lived in the Netherlands only a short time and has not yet been issued a BSN, the citizen service number DigiD depends on. Without a BSN there is no DigiD, and without DigiD the online route is closed. The paper route has no such requirement, but it does take days rather than minutes, and during those days you are not yet excluded.
What changes immediately after registration
From the moment your registration is active, every licensed operator must refuse you. Online you notice this at login; at an arcade or Holland Casino, at the door, where the check happens on entry.
Your existing accounts are not deleted. They remain, but you cannot use them to play. Any remaining balance stays yours and is paid out under the operator's own terms, to the account linked to it. How quickly that happens differs by operator, and since that timing is not set in law, there is no general figure to give here.
Why an operator cannot register you
A licensed operator queries the register but cannot add an entry to it. It can ask the Kansspelautoriteit for an involuntary registration if it observes risky play, but that is a separate procedure with a decision made by the regulator, not a button at customer support.
The distinction matters in practice. Asking an operator to "close my account" gets you exactly that: a closed account at that one operator. It is not a CRUKS registration and does not apply anywhere else. The broad exclusion is arranged at the register.
Identifying with an operator and registering with CRUKS are two different things
Opening a player account often means identifying with iDIN, the method that lets your own bank confirm your details to an operator. Registering with CRUKS uses DigiD or photo identification at a counter. The two systems are unrelated, and passing one says nothing about the other.
A successful iDIN check at a casino, in other words, tells you nothing about your CRUKS status, and having no DigiD does not stop you opening a player account through iDIN — the two gaps do not overlap.
If someone else is trying to register on your behalf
You cannot register another person yourself. What is possible is asking the Kansspelautoriteit to register a closely involved person involuntarily. The regulator decides on that request and hears the person concerned as part of the procedure — it is not a form with a guaranteed outcome.
If you are unsure whether registering is the right step for you, the Loket Kansspel helpline is free and anonymous, and unlike any operator, it has no stake in your answer.
Frequently asked questions
Can I register without DigiD?
Do I have to state why I am registering?
Do I need to close my accounts with operators first?
Can I cancel the registration right after completing it?
Do I get written confirmation?
Does registration also cover lotteries and scratch cards?
Sources
- CRUKS — the register itself, with the current registration routes
- Kansspelautoriteit — regulator that administers the register and decides on involuntary registration
- Wet op de kansspelen — consolidated legal text on wetten.overheid.nl
- Loket Kansspel — independent, anonymous helpline for gambling problems
