Bet365’s advertising blunder – judge confirms sky-high fine
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2 Oct 2025 •
Reading time: 2 minutes Bet365 thought it was being clever by sending the same email to everyone. But that included young people aged 18 to 24. And that is really not allowed.
In 2023, the Kansspelautoriteit imposed a hefty fine of €400,000 on the gambling giant. The judge looked at it and said: yes, that fine is entirely justified. Only because the proceedings took an endless amount of time was €2,500 deducted. Final amount: €397,500.
How the emails reached thousands of young players
Between October 2021 and February 2022, Bet365 sent emails to around 17,000 young players. Not just once by accident, but for months on end.
The content? Advertising to encourage more gambling. And that is precisely what makes young people extra vulnerable. Once someone is hooked on gambling, it is often difficult to break the habit.
One player said that he had never signed up for such emails, but continued to receive them anyway.
‘It felt like they knew I was young and were putting extra pressure on me because of that,’ he said frustratedly.
Bet365 tried to talk its way out of it
Bet365 appealed. The company said: we did not target young people, they just happened to be on the same mailing list as everyone else. A play on words, in other words.
The judge had no patience for this.
‘Whether you target them or aim at them, it doesn’t matter. You simply emailed them.’
Bet365 also tried to argue that the law was unclear. Or that advertising actually helped to keep players with legal providers. But no: the judge dismissed that argument too.
The judge simply considered it a gross error.
The judge said: a large company like Bet365 knows perfectly well how the rules work. Technically, it could easily have filtered out the young players. The fact that they didn’t is their own fault.
That they stopped the campaign of their own accord after a few months? Nice, but far too late. The damage had already been done.
Bet365 is under fire in more countries
The problems are piling up for Bet365. In the Netherlands, they are being reprimanded, but in other countries, they are also being closely scrutinised.
In Belgium, there is already much debate about whether Bet365 is actually legal. And it doesn’t stop there: there are even rumours that the company wants to sell parts of itself for billions. You can read more about this in this article on the possible sale of Bet365.
The picture that emerges is of a gambling giant under pressure everywhere.