Dutch gambling regulator signals strict approach to ban on gambling sponsorship
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The KSA says it won’t tolerate the use of “creative loopholes” as seen in Belgium.
The Netherlands.- While gambling operators in Belgium have made use of loopholes in a new ban on gambling sponsorship in sports, the Dutch regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has signalled that it won’t be taking such shenanigans when a similar ban comes into force in the Netherlands from July.
KSA chairman Michel Groothuizen told the news channel NOS that the regulator would not allow operators or sports clubs to breach the spirit of the blanket ban by using workarounds. He specifically mentioned what has happened in Belgium, where some clubs have switched the logos of gambling brands for those of foundations or news portals backed by the same companies. The Belgian regulator Kansspelcommissie has launched an investigation into the matter.
The Netherlands introduced a ban on non-targeted gambling ads in July 2023. That covers all broadcast, print and outdoor ads. Sports teams were granted an 18-month grace period to adjust and to allow existing contracts to end, with the ban on all sports sponsorship to start on July 1 2025.
Groothuizen told NOS that he expected football clubs to respect the ban and avoid “creative loopholes”. To ensure compliance, he said the KSA would seek a review of the wording of articles related to sponsorship to ensure they do not allow such tactics.
He said: “We would like to see the law amended in such a way that providers are given the space to advertise, but that we can prevent the forms of circumvention that we are currently seeing in Belgium.”
The ban on gambling sponsorship in the Netherlands is likely to have a sizable impact on sports. Licensed operators are estimated to contribute €40m a year to football clubs before taking into consideration broadcasting rights revenue.
It’s also possible that the ban will mean the end of the TOTO Dutch Darts Masters. TOTO has suggested that it will remain involved despite losing naming rights, but Michael van Gerwen, world number three, has expressed concern about the future of the event, saying: “I know a little bit about what TOTO is doing here, it won’t be that easy to find someone else for it.”