Dutch gambling regulator warns BetMGM over ad featuring underage role model
The KSA says BetMGM failed to report the violation.
The Netherlands.- The Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has reprimanded MGM and LeoVegas’s BetMGM online gaming brand for using an underage role models in gambling ads. It says an advert featuring 17-year old Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal appeared on a well-known news website.
According to Dutch rules for gambling ads, online gambling providers are not allowed to advertise with role models, and ads must not appeal to vulnerable groups, including minors. BetMGM launched in the Netherlands just over a year ago.
While the BetMGM advert was apparently only online for a short time and was executed and published by the editors of the website in question, the KSA found that BetMGM failed to report the breach despite being made aware of it by an affiliated media compan. The KSA reminded licensees that they are required to inform the KSA of errors on their part that could pose a danger to consumers.
The regulator said it had dealt with the violation with a warning because BetMGM quickly ended the violation and took adequate measures to prevent recurrence. However, the it stressed that it is the responsibility of providers to comply with the laws and regulations when they outsource advertising campaigns to external parties and that incidents must be reported immediately, regardless of whether an internal investigation is already underway. It noted that it has the power to take enforcement action, even if an external partner is involved.
New Dutch ban on gambling sports sponsorship
The news comes as the KSA prepares to step up its monitoring of a gambling ads in light of the Netherlands’ ban on gambling sponsorship in sports from next month. From July 1, football clubs will no longer be allowed to display the logos of gambling sponsors.
The first stage of Dutch gambling advertising restrictions came into force on July 1 2023 with a ban on non-targeted advertising on TV, radio, online and in public places. A two-year transition period was permitted for sports sponsorship deals because of the length of the contracts often involved.
The KSA hsa said that it was in talks with industry associations about the impact of the measure and any questions that may be relevant to the industry in the run-up to the ban. The KSA has also been watching what has happened with the introduction of gambling sponsorship bans in Italy and more recently in neighbouring Belgium, where some clubs have used loopholes to continue sponsorship arrangements by using the logos of foundations or news portals rather than gambling operators directly.
In a letter to licensed online gambling operators, it said it would be extra vigilant over the summer and would take immediate enforcement action if it identifies breaches of the new rules.
In February, the Belgian gambling regulator Kansspelcommissie ordered sports clubs to respect the country’s new ban on gambling sponsorship and issued specific warnings to the Pro League’s Club Brugge KV and RSC Anderlecht, Belgium’s biggest football clubs, for alleged breaches of the ban.
