Podcast: This is going to cost sports clubs millions from 1 July
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25 Jun 2025 •
Reading time: 2 minutes From 1 July 2025, there will be a total ban on gambling sponsorship in sport in the Netherlands. This means that sports clubs will no longer be allowed to advertise online casinos. This hits clubs hard, especially the smaller ones. The BBC devoted an entire episode of Business Daily to this topic.
In the podcast, journalist Matthew Kenyon explains how the Netherlands went from legalisation to strict ban in a short time. He speaks to four Dutch stakeholders who experienced the consequences up close: Michel Groothuizen of the Kansspelautoriteit, Michel Everaert of the Nederlandse Volleybalbond, Bas Ramaekers of the Eredivisie and Frank Op de Woerd of CasinoNieuws.nl.
Clubs see sponsorship revenues disappear due to ban
According to Bas Ramaekers, the Eredivisie initially deliberately did not make deals with gambling companies. But when the market opened, suddenly there was room for cooperation. That door was quickly closed again. He calls it painful and confusing.
“Why open a market, let parties invest money and then close it again? It’s really crooked.”
Michel Everaert says companies were pumping massive amounts of money into sponsorships to build brand awareness quickly. That money was much needed for many clubs. Especially in sports like volleyball, where the male league was sponsored by BetCity.
“Most gambling operators hired marketing companies. These were afraid of missing eyeballs and the opportunity to lure people to their gambling platforms.”
Kansspelautoriteit intervenes sternly
Michel Groothuizen of the Kansspelautoriteit understands where the resistance is coming from. When gambling was legalised in 2021, Dutch people were inundated with gambling advertisements. This led to public outrage as well as political pressure.
“We got a real bombardment of gambling ads since legalisation. They could be seen everywhere on TV, the internet and bus shelters.”
According to Groothuizen, the link between politics and gambling companies has been poor since then. He indicates that his organisation is now taking stricter action, as rules were not sufficiently complied with.
“We as the KSA have had to intervene with a hard hand. Because it proved quite a chore for gambling operators to comply with the rule.”
Clever detours or illegal alternatives?
Frank Op de Woerd wonders aloud whether providers will circumvent the ban. As in Belgium, they might use alternative brand names to still remain visible. He thinks the big companies are compliant, but worries about the rest.
“There is a risk that illegal providers will take advantage of this. They will soon have a free hand again if the legal parties are restricted.”
He warns that this achieves the opposite of what the ban is trying to do: namely, protect players from untrustworthy gambling platforms.
Listen to the podcast here: