Renske Fikkers, head of the Netherlands Gambling Authority’s (KSA) regulatory department, has conceded that a blanket ban on all gambling advertising is becoming an “increasingly realistic option”.
Fikkers’ comments came as part of her speech at the Gaming in Holland conference yesterday, 5 June, where she shared concerns about some of the conduct she had witnessed from licensed operators in the Dutch market.
Ad regulations have become an increasingly divisive issue within the nation’s regulated market and the prospect of stricter regulations has been on the cards for some time.
In March, Teun Struycken, the Dutch minister for legal protection who oversees gambling, refused to rule out the idea of implementing tougher rules regarding gambling ads amid concerns that the regulations currently in place do not offer enough protection.
Earlier this week, the KSA issued a warning to BetMGM after an ad from the operator was deemed to have breached laws surrounding the use of role models in marketing campaignswho are likely to appeal to minors and vulnerable groups.
The ad, by BetMGM, featured 17-year-old FC Barcelona star Lamine Yamal, with the regulator arguing his image could influence a younger demographic.
It is this kind of breach that Fikkers alluded to in her speech, as she also touched on April’s €734,000 fine to an unnamed operator over duty of care failings.
“If we see operators developing good initiatives, I will be the first to mention these in our reporting as well,” she explained. “But sometimes even I can’t make things appear better than they are. This year, we went public with our first ‘duty-of-care fine’.
“We fined one operator €734,000 because young adults were able to gamble away tens of thousands of euros without adequate intervention. That total lack of consideration for vulnerable players was at odds with the original approach of legalisation and, for that reason, the reins are now being tightened.”
Fikkers continued, addressing concerns regarding recent ad regulation failings, adding: “The same goes for advertising: I still see far too often that advertising rules are not properly followed.
“The subsequent outrage over this makes a total ban on advertising an increasingly realistic option. Which is still undesirable as far as the KSA is concerned!”
Fikkers went on to discuss how the KSA can combat black market operators, after conceding that the nation’s channelisation rate based on gross gambling revenue is “worryingly low” at 50%, though player-based channelisation sits much higher at 92%.
She disclosed new methods the KSA are deploying in its efforts to reduce the size of the illegal market, noting: “Tackling the illegal market is therefore an undiminished high priority in our regulation.
“We are increasing our capacity with a new project, where we are frustrating the infrastructure around illegal operators. We do this by delving deeper into the techniques used by illegal parties and then using them ourselves in creative ways.
“Whereas we previously focused on imposing fines and getting websites offline, we are now also looking more at websites promoting illegal offerings and ads for these types of parties on social media and in apps.”
Last month, KSA chair Michel Groothuizen informed licensed operators the regulator would tighten its supervision around ad breaches ahead of the incoming sports sponsorship ban, due to come into effect on 1 July 2025.
Once in place, operators will be not be permitted to sponsor athletes, teams and sporting attire, as well as sports competitions.
The post KSA: Blanket ad ban becoming an “increasingly realistic option” first appeared on EGR Intel.
Renske Fikkers explains the Dutch regulator has not ruled out the prospect of a full-scale gambling ad ban, but notes it wants to avoid such drastic measures if possible
The post KSA: Blanket ad ban becoming an “increasingly realistic option” first appeared on EGR Intel.