Illegal advertising: online casinos exploiting the image of OnlyFans
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25 Apr 2025 •
Reading time: 2 minutes Unauthorised online casinos have been using the OnlyFans name to illegally promote their services by running misleading adverts via news sites and influencers. This practice, denounced by the Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa), aimed to exploit the popularity of the platform to attract players, often vulnerable, to unregulated gambling offers.
Unauthorised online casinos were recently discovered using the name and reputation of the OnlyFans platform to promote their illegal gambling services. This tactic aims to attract users by exploiting the popularity of OnlyFans, often associated with adult content, to give an appearance of legitimacy to their unregulated offers.
Increased vigilance in the face of new forms of advertising
Illegal casinos, such as Boomerang Bet, exploit the reputation of OnlyFans in their advertising to attract the attention of young adults. OnlyFans, although legal, is a platform widely known for its exclusive, often erotic, content, accessible via a paid subscription. Playing on this sultry and popular image, these ads – notably broadcast on Facebook – compare the profitability of online gaming to that of an OnlyFans account. The message is deliberately provocative:
‘Earn more from gambling than from selling content on OnlyFans.’
According to Keurmerk Verantwoorde Affiliates (KVA), this brand hijacking is intended to attract a young, impressionable target audience with a fondness for well-known digital platforms. This particular advertisement, spotted during a routine check, comes from an unlicensed operator who had already been singled out for promoting casinos that were not on the Cruks register, a system designed to protect against gambling addiction. In short, the misuse of the OnlyFans name is being used as a marketing tool to legitimise and glamorise an illegal gambling activity, by playing on cultural codes that are well known to young people who are connected to the Internet.
The use of the OnlyFans name is just one example of the methods used by illegal casinos to circumvent regulations. The Ksa has also noted an increase in promotions via influencers on platforms such as YouTube, where videos have been removed after intervention by the authority. These campaigns often target young adults, an age group that is particularly likely to develop problem gambling behaviour.
The dangers for gamblers
These marketing practices often target vulnerable players, particularly those seeking to avoid the restrictions imposed by legal casinos. By playing on unauthorised sites, users expose themselves to increased risks: no protection against addiction, lack of transparency about the chances of winning, and no guarantee of the security of the funds deposited.
The Ksa reminds users of the importance of checking the legitimacy of gaming platforms by consulting the Kansspelwijzer, an online tool listing licensed operators in the Netherlands.