Research news outlet Phys.org has reported that gambling operators licensed in the Netherlands are openly advertising to young adults on social media.
Using Meta’s advertising repository, Dr Leon Y. Xiao was able to flag down an advert by state-owned Holland Casino promoted on Facebook in early 2025. According to the data, in just under a week the ad was seen by 7,426 males and 9,704 females between the ages of 18 and 24.
Another advert showed content targeted at young women through the Get Ready With Me make-up trend, this time brandishing the logo of online casino WinnItt – a brand owned by TOTO Online BV, which in turn belongs to another state-owned operator, Nederlandse Loterij.
Dutch gambling legislation dictates that all gambling marketing, covering both online and land-based operators, should actively avoid targeting 18-24 year olds when advertising on social media, as this age group is considered vulnerable.
Such breaches, despite Phys describing them as “minority examples”, are certainly a black spot on the licensed sector’s reputation in the Netherlands.
This is certainly something that needs to be avoided, not only given the current market conditions where everyone is sounding the alarm about a rampant black market, but also an increasing political scrutiny by the new government.
In February, Claudia Van Bruggen, the Dutch Secretary for Legal Protections, inherited a long list of gambling reforms to the Remote Gaming Act from her predecessor Teun Struycken, which she is now in charge of implementing.
Van Bruggen and fellow D66 party member Nathalie van Berkel, State Secretary of Finance, recently had to answer for consumer protection breaches by Holland Casino – particularly a case where self-excluded individuals were sent marketing material during their cool-off period.
With the Dutch regulated sector finding itself under the public spotlight on a daily basis, both regulators and licensed operators need to work closely together now more than ever to show that the responsibility towards the customer is still being held to an utmost degree.
