Regulator prepares to monitor Dutch ban on gambling sponsorship
The KSA has warned that it will be extra vigilant this summer for violations of the advertising ban.
The Netherlands.- The Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has warned that it will tighten its monitoring of gambling advertising in the Netherlands as a ban on sports sponsorship comes into effect on July 1. In a letter to KSA-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.
On 1 July 2023, the Netherlands introduced the first stage of its gambling advertising restrictions 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 transition period ends on July 1, from when gambling sponsorship of athletes, teams, clubs, competitions, shirts and other material will no longer be permitted.
The regulator said that it is currently 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 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.
KSA chair Michel Groothuizen said: ‘In other countries with a similar ban, we see that gambling providers try to circumvent the ban in creative ways. As far as I’m concerned, that will not be the case in the Netherlands.”
He added: “This law was drawn up to protect young adults and other vulnerable groups. You do that by preventing them from being exposed to gambling advertising, regardless of who the advertising comes from. We at KSA will be very vigilant about that.”
