Ban on gambling advertisements for sports clubs: Now also for amateurs
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23 Oct 2024 •
Reading time: 3 minutes As of 1 July 2025, gambling companies in the Netherlands will no longer be allowed to sponsor any sports club, from large professional teams to small amateur clubs. This was announced by State Secretary Struycken after questions from MPs Mirjam Bikker (Christian Union) and Michiel van Nispen (SP). This new ban is not coming out of the blue; it is the result of concerns about the influence of gambling companies on young athletes and supporters.
Bikker and Van Nispen fear Belgian conditions
Bikker and Van Nispen raised the alarm when they saw what was happening in Belgium. There, footballers under the age of 21 are not allowed to wear shirts with a gambling sponsor. Clubs such as Royal Antwerp, with BetFirst as main sponsor, have found a clever way to circumvent this rule: they use a foundation, AntwerpFirst, as an alternative sponsor for younger players. Incidentally, this foundation is financed by the same gambling companies. You can imagine that Bikker and Van Nispen wanted to prevent Dutch clubs from pulling the same trick.
They wondered whether the new Dutch ban would also apply to amateur clubs and whether gambling companies could still remain visible in sports through clever constructions such as foundations. You can already sense the relief: starting from July 2025, all of that will be prohibited.
No visibility for gambling companies, not even through foundations
Struycken was clear in his answer: starting from 1 July 2025, gambling companies may no longer be visible in any way at sports clubs, sports halls or sports complexes. This ban applies to both professional clubs and amateur clubs. Whether you are a top club or the village team on Sunday afternoon, gambling companies will disappear from your shirts and your billboards.
The idea is simple: public spaces must be free of gambling advertisements, especially in places where young people often hang out. Struycken admitted that he is also keeping a close eye on developments in other countries, but he first wants to see what the evaluation of the Remote Gambling Act yields before announcing additional measures.
Stricter gambling rules to protect young people
This ban is not just a stand-alone measure; it is part of a broader government approach to curb gambling advertising. It is likely that we will see even more strict rules in the near future. The focus is on protecting young people and vulnerable groups from the influence of gambling. Think of the moment you see your favourite club on TV, with a large gambling company on their shirt. The government wants to ensure that this image disappears for good from 2025.
You can see that there is a shift in how we deal with gambling advertising. Clubs will have to find new sponsors and young people can finally watch sports without being constantly confronted with gambling advertising. A step in the right direction? You can decide that for yourself, but the signal is clear: sports and gambling no longer belong together.