Maastricht: Circus Gran Casino crosses the line, Ksa intervenes
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11 Apr 2025 •
Reading time: 2 minutes On 9 April 2025, the Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa), the Dutch gambling regulator, announced on its website that it had formally taken Hotel Gaming Services B.V., the operator of the Circus Gran Casino slot machines, to task for failing to comply with a rule that has been in force since 2022 in its promotional campaigns.
The Ksa recently reiterated the strict ban on the use of public figures, such as professional sportsmen and women, in the promotional campaigns of gambling establishments. This is not a new measure: it has been in force since June 2022.
Hotel Gaming Services B.V., the operator of the Circus Gran Casino slot machines, recently breached this rule and was called in by the Ksa. The Maastricht establishment had called on a local professional hockey club to promote its gaming room. This initiative contravened the legal provisions governing high-risk gambling.
Advertising that was too visible… and against the law
The facts are clear: the hockey team was featured in a visual communication in which the players, dressed in their official uniforms, played slot machines in the Maastricht establishment. The casino even went so far as to publicly congratulate the team on their victory in a tournament. This was seen as an attempt to capitalise on the fame of the sportsmen and women to attract a younger clientele.
However, under current regulations, operators of so-called ‘high-risk’ games are not allowed to associate their image with that of public figures, particularly influencers and professional or former professional sportsmen and women.
Immediate cooperation but a clear message
Hotel Gaming Services B.V. reacted swiftly to the Ksa injunction, deleting the content in question and cooperating with the authorities. However, the company expressed its lack of understanding of the clarity of the standard, believing that the legal obligations were not sufficiently explicit.
The Ksa, for its part, maintains its unequivocal position: as slot machines are classified as high-risk gambling operators, the ban on public figures applies in full. The aim is to protect vulnerable groups, particularly young adults, from the indirect influence of emotional marketing and sporting notoriety.
Towards tighter controls on the use of public figures
In the interests of regulatory consistency, the Ksa has announced that it will henceforth closely monitor the compliance of future communications from this operator and, more broadly, from all gaming establishments in the same category.