In July of 2023, the Netherlands imposed a ban on advertising gambling out in the open, on our TV screens, in magazines, and over the radio. However, online advertisements are still allowed — at least for now.
The Dutch parliament has since voted in favour of banning online advertisements for gambling sites, which means even our phones and computers may soon be safe from gambling adverts.
In April of 2024, a majority in the Dutch House of Representatives supported a motion to completely ban online advertisements for gambling. This will result in a total ban on gambling advertisements in the Netherlands.
So, what does this mean for Dutch online casinos?
Should this motion be brought into law, even the best Dutch online casinos, presented at iGaming.com, won’t be allowed to advertise online.
Currently, online casinos are allowed to advertise online as long as these ads meet certain requirements implemented in 2023.
In 2023, the Dutch government imposed a ban on untargeted advertising by gambling sites — meaning their adverts cannot be seen by just anyone (such as 18-year-old boys).
According to this restriction, ads are still allowed online, but gambling sites are required to take “the best available measures” to avoid advertising to people under the age of 24 or vulnerable groups such as gambling addicts.
As part of this, they have to prove “using the best available techniques” that 95% of people reached through online advertising were above the age of 24. They also had to give people who would see these online advertisements the choice to opt out of being shown them.
However, in 2024, many members of the House of Representatives believe these restrictions aren’t enough, and an outright ban may soon be implemented.
SP and others are against online advertising for gambling
The motion to completely ban online advertising for the gambling industry was brought forward by a member of the SP.
According to this member, “the market is sick through and through”, and something needs to change.
Indeed, in 2021, the Dutch loosened the reigns on advertisements for Dutch gambling services. Online gambling sites were allowed to advertise across television, radio, online, and outdoor posters.
The result? Companies went overboard, spending nearly a quarter of a billion on advertising during this time period. The Netherlands became inundated with gambling advertisements — and surprise, surprise, this was a problem.
Waarom (why)? Many vulnerable people in the Netherlands became addicted to gambling.
The argument was made that the results of this deluge of advertisements that started in 2021 still live on — even after new restrictions were brought in 2023 and 2024.
One way to put a complete end to it is by extending the ban to the realm of online advertising. (No less than six motions regarding the Dutch gambling industry were voted on.)
The motion to ban online advertising for the gambling industry has received support from a majority of the House of Representatives, with GroenLinks-PvdA, NSC, CDA and CU voting in favour of the motion.
Not everyone was in favour
However, not everyone supported his motion.
In fact, the previous Minister for Legal Protection — the outgoing minister at the time of the vote — wanted to wait and see if the current and impending restrictions would be enough in the long run.
These impending restrictions include the ban on event sponsorship, implemented in July 2024, and an upcoming ban on sports sponsorship in July 2025.
The SP member argued that there was no need to wait. The damage from 2021’s era of wild advertising offered enough justification for the motion to be passed — and the rest of parliament agreed.
Not the only successful motion
As we mentioned, no less than six motions regarding the gambling industry were submitted, with many supported by the parliament.
One notable motion was a ban on “online gambling with a demonstrably high risk.” This includes online slot machines, which were used as an example in this motion.
According to the motion, gambling games such as online slot machines are games of chance that leave players with no control over the outcome. It was also argued that they are highly addictive because the time you have to wait to see if your gamble is worthwhile is very short.
READ MORE | The Netherlands might be getting a new tax bracket: here’s how you could benefit from it
Should this ban be implemented, online casinos must brace for a lot of change (and not the monetary kind.) Recent statistics have shown that as much as 77% of turnover for online gambling companies is generated by online casino games such as online slot machines.
Should a ban on such games be implemented, that turnover may take a significant hit.
The industry reacts
Members of the gambling industry argue that a total ban on online advertising would have adverse effects.
They argue that by placing such heavy restrictions on legal gambling sites, they may instead push Dutch gamblers to illegal sites.
Some experts are already reporting that they are seeing a slow drop in the number of customers channelling into the legal Dutch market — which means they must be going elsewhere.
Instead, they have some suggestions for how things should be handled.
They argue that the government should focus on penalising those who run illegal gambling sites as opposed to placing restrictions on legal avenues.
They also believe that legal channels offering gambling information should be allowed.
Why? Because people who find these sources of info don’t stumble across them, they usually want to gamble. At least this way, they argue, they will be guided towards legal options.
Are you affected by online gambling advertisements? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!