The Dutch Gambling Authority Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) is stepping up its monitoring this summer as the ban on sports sponsorships takes effect on July 1. The regulator shared this news in a letter sent to Dutch online gambling providers.
The broader ban on untargeted advertising for online gambling already started on July 1, 2023. That put a stop to ads in public spaces and in places that are open to the general public. Sports sponsorships, though, were given a bit more time due to the nature of longer-term contracts. The grace period ends this summer. After that, companies will no longer be allowed to sponsor individual athletes, teams, clubs, leagues, shirts, or any other kind of promotional materials.
The KSA says it will be keeping a close eye out for any violations and will act immediately if it spots any. In the meantime, the authority is also talking with industry groups about how the ban will affect them and answering any remaining questions they might have.
In a statement (translated into English), Michel Groothuizen, Chairman of the Board of the Gambling Authority, said: “In other countries with similar bans, we see gambling operators trying to circumvent the rules in creative ways. As far as I’m concerned, that will not be the case in the Netherlands.
“This law was created to protect young adults and other vulnerable groups. You do that by preventing them from being exposed to gambling advertisements, regardless of who is behind them. We at the KSA will be very strict about this.”
The investigation into media ads is part of a wider crackdown that the KSA has been carrying out in recent months.
One recent case that caught the regulator’s attention was Analyse Master, a sports betting tipster platform that’s especially popular among younger audiences. While the KSA didn’t find any formal rule violations in this instance, it did raise concerns about the growing influence of betting content on social media.
The regulator pointed out that young adults are particularly vulnerable to gambling-related harm, which makes this kind of content especially worrying. Even when no rules are broken, the KSA says the potential risks for this age group can’t be ignored.
