Dutch gambling regulator raps Circus Gran Casino operator over use of role models
The KSA has warned Hotel Gaming Services for using professional athletes in its in marketing.
The Netherlands.- The Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has issued a warning against the operator of the Circus Gran Casino chain of gaming arcades for violating the Netherlands’ ban on the use of role models in marketing. It noted that Hotel Gaming Services had used featured athletes from a Limburg ice hockey team in an advert for its arcade in Maastricht.
The offending ad showed players in team uniform playing on a gaming machine at the arcade. The message congratulated the team for its victory in a tournament
The Netherlands imposed a ban on role models in gambling advertising in June 2022. Professional athletes are generally considered to meet the definition of role model under the prohibition, but Hotel Gaming Services argued that there was a lack of clarity in the rules, including in terms of what types of gambling are covered.
The KSA said that gaming arcades are fully covered by the ban. It warned other arcades to make sure they were aware of the ban. It noted that Hotel Gaming Services cooperated with its investigation and immediately removed the advert.
While the Circus Gran Casino used an image of athletes, it’s not necessary for an athlete to physically appear for an ad to breach the ban. In January, the KSA issued several warnings over breaches, including relating to ads that hinted at references to the Dutch F1 driver Max Verstappen through puns and visual elements without directly showing or mentioning him.
Dutch gambling marketing rules will get even stricter from July, when a ban on gambling sponsorship in sports comes into force. The KSA had warned operators not to try to find loopholes like what has been seen in Belgium and Italy, where some teams are not sponsored by other entities linked to gambling operators, such as news portals and foundations.
Clampdown on unlicensed gambling apps in the Netherlands
Meanwhile, this KSA revealed this week that it had taken action to have 20 unlicensed gambling apps removed from app stores in the Netherlands so far this year. The KSA said many illegal apps were advertised via social media and that illegal providers were often using “underhand techniques” to trick consumers, for example, by displaying logos of licensed providers. It cited the example of an app in the Apple App Store that misused the Holland Casino logo.
It also noted that ‘ordinary’ non-gambling games are often advertised, in many cases a variation on plinko, but after download, the app links to illegal gambling websites. The KSA urged consumers to report suspicious apps so that it can continue to flag up offending apps for removal by Google and Apple.
