The Netherlands to ban gambling ads from TV from January

A ban on broadcast gambling ads will come into effect at the start of next year, and sponsorship will be banned from 2025.

The Netherlands.- The Dutch government is finally moving ahead with its plans to ban “untargeted” gambling ads in the country. Broadcast ads will be banned from January and gambling sponsorship in sport will be banned from the start of 2025.

The Ministry of Legal Protection has drawn up the plans having faced pressure from MPs for several months due to the surge in gambling advertising seen after the Dutch regulated online gambling market launched in October last year.

The ban on broadcast ads covers not only television but also radio and advertising in public spaces. It will come into effect from January 1. Further measures will be phased in over the two subsequent years. Sponsorship of television programs and events will be banned from January 1, 2024 and the sponsorship of sports kits and venues will be banned from January 1, 2025.

The ministry said the staggered prohibition was intended to “give the sports sector the opportunity to find alternative sponsors”.

The national gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) will be responsible for monitoring compliance with the rules and will have the power to intervene in the case of breaches, first with a warning and then with fines.

Minister for legal protection Franc Weerwind said: “Today we have taken an important step towards further curbing gambling advertisements. Advertising is a means of directing people to the legal offer, but the importance of addiction prevention is more important. 

“With this, I want to protect vulnerable groups such as young people in particular.”

Weerwind has previously insisted that some form of advertising was necessary to direct players to legal offerings. Under the new rules, online and direct marketing will be allowed, but the government said the rules would be tightened to protect vulnerable groups.

Yesterday, Kindred’s Unibet went live in the Netherlands under its new Dutch gaming licence. It had been blocking Dutch players since the regulated market launched in October. It’s operating at Unibet.nl. The brand has already signed a sponsorship deal with the football club Ajax.