Researchers propose pre-authorisation of gambling adverts in the Netherlands amid compliance concerns
Land-based licensees were found to have a much higher rate of non-compliance than igaming licence holders.
The Netherlands.- A new academic study has added to concerns about compliance with Dutch gambling advertising rules on Meta-owned social media platforms. The research by the City University of Hong Kong and the University of Bristol found that a significant portion of gambling ads on Facebook and Instagram may have breached age-targeting restrictions.
The study analysed 277 paid adverts from licensed Dutch gambling operators published on Facebook and Instagram between 2024 and early 2025. Researchers used the Ad Library introduced under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires advertisers to disclose age ranges and estimated reach. This enabled them to assess whether campaigns adhered to Dutch regulations.
The findings showed that 31 adverts, around 11.2 per cent of those studied, targeted users aged 18 to 23, a group specifically protected under Dutch law. Of note, online gaming licence holders were found to be the most compliant, with only 7.3 per cent of their adverts falling short. However, offline licence holders had a much higher rate of non-compliance, with nearly 30 per cent of their campaigns breaching restrictions.
That includes the major legacy state-controlled operator Holland Casino. It was found to have run adverts that includedunder-24s in the targeting settings. One campaign reportedly reached more than 21,000 Dutch users aged 18–24, with researchers estimating that over 15 per cent of the ad’s reach was within this prohibited age group.
Although the legal age of gambling in the Netherlands remains 18, the Netherlands’ 2013 Decree on Gambling Recruitment, Advertising and Addiction Prevention bans operators from targeting adverts at players aged under 24. Since July 2023, new restrictions prohibit all “untargeted” gambling adverts and require operators to demonstrate that at least 95 per cent of their ad audience is aged 24 or older.
Researchers pointed to several causes behind the breaches of the rules, including a reliance on Meta’s automated Advantage+ optimisation tool, which defaults the starting target age to 18 unless manually adjusted. They also cited human error in compliance checks, and limitations in Meta’s reporting system. Because Meta reports age ranges in broad brackets such as 18–24, advertisers cannot easily verify compliance with the requirement to specifically exclude 18–23-year-olds.
Meta has faced criticism in several jurisdictions for allegedly not doing enough to prevent unlicensed gambling adverts. In this case, the breaches were generally not the tech company’s fault as the advertisers were licensed in the Netherlands. However, the report does suggest that Meta could do more to prevent breaches from happening.
The study recommended that Meta provide reach data in single-year increments. It also suggested that the tech giant could apply country-specific legal age minimums by default.
Meanwhile, the researchers recommend that the Dutch gambling regulator KSA clarify to land-based gambling licensees that they are required to comply with the same restrictions as online operators when advertising online. More radically, the report proposes tighter enforcement measures, including the pre-authorisation of gambling adverts.
A ban on gambling sponsorship in Dutch sport came into force last year. Since then, there has been a call for a complete ban on gambling ads in the Netherlands.
