NETHERLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Alan Littler, Justin Franssen and Chris Adriaansz, Franssen Tolboom
advocate their services or goods, directly or indirectly, whether or not with the aid of third parties.” According to the NGA, such forms of communication include: • “branded” content; • sponsoring; • advertising via social media channels; • advertisements on search engines; • banners; • viral marketing; and • email marketing. 9.3 Key Legal, Regulatory and Licensing Provisions Advertisements should improve responsible partici- pation in gambling offers. Gambling advertisements must therefore include: • the applicable responsible gambling slogan; • the minimum age of participation; and • reference to where further (responsible gambling) information can be obtained. Applicants must submit an advertising policy to the NGA as part of the remote gambling licence appli- cation process. This document will describe the applicant’s approach to shaping advertisements and engaging with third parties such as affiliates. Further- more, the advertising policy will detail how the market- As explained in 3.5 Key Offences , advertisement activities for locally unlicensed gambling offers fall within the prohibition on promoting unlicensed games of chance (Article 1 (1)(b) of the BGA). Whilst the legal basis is far from certain, the NGA recently argued that this prohibition also extends to advertisements on Dutch soil for offers that are not available to Dutch residents and those trying to visit from a Dutch IP address. In 2025, the NGA forbade all logos (and other forms of advertising) of locally unlicensed gam- bling operators during the Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix, even though those operators had blocked access to their offers for Dutch residents and those visiting from a Dutch IP address. It remains unclear ing team of an applicant is organised. 9.4 Restrictions on Advertising
whether the NGA’s position will hold in court as opera- tors specifically addressed by the NGA removed their advertising before a formal sanction was issued and could be appealed in court. Licensed offers are subject to a wide range of adver- tising restrictions. The offering of bonuses is permit- ted in principle and constitutes an advertising activity. This means that all advertising restrictions apply to bonuses, and, in addition, specific bonus require- ments apply. Advertising must be prudent and balanced at all times, which means: • it cannot be misleading, aggressive or irresponsi- ble; and • it must not incite excessive gambling. For all readily available licences (except remote games of chance), the watershed period for gambling adver- tisements on television and radio is between 6 am and 9 pm. Advertising remote gambling on television and radio is prohibited given the ban on untargeted advertising (see below). Furthermore, advertising activities may not be tar- geted at vulnerable groups of persons (eg, minors, young adults and persons suffering from gambling addiction). Role models may not be used in advertisements for remote gambling, land-based casinos and slot machines. This ban includes the use of sportsper- sons and sports teams. Sponsoring of sportspersons and teams is allowed for land-based casinos and slot machines (and other types of land-based licences). For remote gambling licence holders, there is an addi- tional prohibition on untargeted advertising and spon- soring of sportspersons and teams. The prohibition on untargeted advertising means that the following advertising channels are prohibited: • television and radio; • newspapers; • magazines, or other printed, generally accessible means of communication; and
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