YES: Lars Westhoff, owner and co-founder of law firm Westhoff Van Namen
The Online Gambling Untargeted Advertising Decree banned untargeted advertising for online gambling, starting July 2023. The decree aims to protect young people aged 18-24 from excessive online gambling advertising, as they are more vulnerable to addiction.
The risk of addiction in online gambling is higher than with lotteries, for example. The rule requires licence holders to be able to prove that at least 95% of their advertising is aimed at people aged 24 or older. Also, from 1 July 2025, sports clubs can no longer be sponsored by online gambling operators. This decision comes after the earlier ban on the use of celebrities in online gambling ads.
There has been renewed criticism in politics recently, as Eurojackpot (a land-based lottery) became the new sponsor of Dutch football’s KNVB Cup and also signed partnerships with two football clubs – becoming the official sleeve sponsor of AZ Alkmaar and FC Twente, both on five-year deals.
There are several political parties that want football and the gambling industry separated – and they find this ‘bypass’ of sponsorship rules undesirable. They have therefore submitted parliamentary questions to the state secretary for justice and security, David van Weel, asking him to research stricter gambling advertising laws. They would like to see a total ban on gambling advertisements, even though lotteries are seen as less risky.
In recent years, more and more restrictions have been placed on online gambling advertising. Additionally, there is support within Dutch politics for further restrictions extending to less risky forms of gambling such as lotteries. If this trend continues, a total advertising ban in the future is a foreseeable next step.
Such a ban is obviously undesirable in view of the channelisation rate, which has already fallen drastically following restrictions on betting limits. However, this has not deterred the legislator from additional measures, so it is unlikely to do so in the future.
NO: Guusje Pannekoek, lawyer at law firm Blenheim
Although there is significant political pressure to further restrict gambling advertisements, a complete ban in the Netherlands appears undesirable and looks doubtful. Prohibiting online advertising and affiliate marketing is likely to lead to increased migration towards illegal operators.
This trend already seems to be emerging in practice, with the channelisation rate in the Netherlands declining from 93% to 90% over the past year. Since the introduction of stricter advertising regulations, the visibility of licensed operators has decreased. While exact figures are lacking, there are indications that this has weakened the position of the legal online gambling sector.
This suggests the illegal gambling market in the Netherlands may be gaining ground, and a total ban could further accelerate this shift. For example, the previous ban on Dutch affiliates promoting licensed operators via Google Ads resulted, according to various reports, in a significant share of paid gambling ads linking to illegal operators.
Although exact percentages are not confirmed, this situation prompted Google to revise its policy, now allowing only operators licensed by the Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) to advertise. This shows how a ban can inadvertently support illegal activity if social media platforms are not part of the strategy.
Players must be able to identify where they can gamble legally. Visibility is essential. Without it, channelisation declines and the risks of gambling addiction, fraud and consumer deception increase. At-risk players are also better protected when there is no total ban.
Illegal operators typically do not offer any form of addiction prevention and often actively target vulnerable players. Protecting consumers is crucial, but it cannot be achieved by silencing legal operators. Such a ban would lead to a shift from legal to illegal offerings, where oversight and protection are absent.
The post Big Debate: Does a blanket advertising ban in the Netherlands look increasingly likely? first appeared on EGR Intel.
Lawyers Guusje Pannekoek and Lars Westhoff answer this month’s burning question, as further regulatory restrictions looms in the Neterlands
The post Big Debate: Does a blanket advertising ban in the Netherlands look increasingly likely? first appeared on EGR Intel.