SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Unibet has received two warnings from the Netherland’s gambling authority (KSA) after being found in breach of strict Dutch advertising laws around gambling
Registered in the Netherlands as Optdeck, Unibet’s first breach related to untargeted advertising, a practice which has been barred in the Netherlands since 2023.
Part of the operator’s partnership with the Unibet Tietema Rockets cycling team is to have its logo placed on the bus which transports the squad. However, the branded vehicle was used elsewhere – violating the conditions of the deal.
The KSA said in a statement: “The cycling team has been asked to stop using the bus immediately, and the bus and team vehicles will be provided with modified stickers without the Unibet logo.
“The KSA has indicated that it is always the provider’s responsibility to guarantee that sponsorship agreements comply with the laws and regulations. In addition, the coach in this form will no longer be allowed on the road as of 1 July 2025, because that is also when the ban on sports sponsorship comes into effect.”
Secondly, Unibet also received a warning for the use of autoplay on its BonusBuy function, which is strictly prohibited for online games of chance offered to Dutch players. The feature allowed players to automatically continue playing with purchased bonuses without having to start a new game.
Optdeck argued that monitoring several sponsorship agreements can be a complex matter, and also claimed to be unaware that the bus was being used for other transport.
The KSA concluded that “because both violations were stopped immediately as soon as they were noticed, the KSA will leave it at a warning for now,” but asserted that If Optdeck makes another mistake in the future, stricter sanctions will be imposed.
Cutting player losses
It was only July 2023 that the Dutch government banned untargeted advertising for online gambling, which included TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards and public spaces.
The only exception for the industry was through targeted advertising such as banner ads, social media, on‑demand TV, but only under very strict conditions.
This came as part of a nation-wide attempt to minimise gambling harm. The following year, the KSA also introduced mandatory deposit limits and affordability checks. From this, data showed that accounts losing more than €1,000 per month dropped from 4% to around 1.2%.
Two years on from the advertising ban’s implementation, player protection remains a key debate in the Netherlands, while legislative changes are still being adopted – like a ban on sports sponsorship which came into effect today (1 July).
The collapse of the coalition government earlier this summer has put gambling reforms on hold, but many politicians and reform advocates remain committed to making changes to Dutch gambling regulations.
