Dutch report suggests gambling ad ban has reduced demand for TV advertising

The report found that the TV advertising market has contracted by 3 per cent.

The Netherlands.- A report from the research agency Screenforce has found that the Dutch TV advertising market contracted following the ban on gambling advertising imposed in July 2023. The report found that €426m was spent on TV advertising in H1 of this year, down 3 per cent from the same period in 2023.

Commercial ads accounted for a spend of €374m in H1, down by 4 per cent. Meanwhile, non-spot ads like programme sponsorship and product placement rose by 2 per cent to €52m. The drop in commercials may not be due to lack of gambling ads alone, however. There was a 1.5 per cent drop in average screen time to 130 minutes.

Michel van der Voort, director of Screenforce, said: “Of course, the spending in the first half of this year disappoints us, and yet I am cautiously optimistic about the entire year. After this sports summer, we will be able to report a nice viewing time over the third quarter.”

The report comes as the Dutch parliament continues to debate a failed proposal to ban all online gambling advertising. In the latest update, the new secretary of state for legal protection Teun Struycken answered parliamentary questions following the publication of a news report that identified online gambling ads aimed at young adults.

Michiel van Nispen of the Socialist Party had raised concerns about a finding that some 60 per cent of gambling ads reach young adults. Struycken cast doubt on the figure, arguing that De Groene Amsterdammer’s report was based on 35,592 ads and that only two per cent of the people who saw those were eighteen to 24 years old. However, he said that the government was committed to protecting young adults and vulnerable groups from gambling harm.