KSA Wants Better Targeted Online Advertising Practices

Netherland’s Gambling Authority Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has sent a series of warnings to several iGaming providers in the country regarding their advertising campaigns online, asking for “special attention” when targeting vulnerable categories.

11 KOA Licensees Have Been Warned By KSA

The regulatory body has sent warnings to all 11 license holders under the Remote Gambling ACT (Wet Kansspelen op afstand, KOA), expressing the operators’ obligation to use better targeting practices concerning young adults and minors. At the end of an advertising sweep, KSA came across several operators that had been promoting their gambler-targeted advertisements on TeenTok, a YouTube channel dedicated to teens, a Donald Duck-themed site online, and during Marble Mania, a popular TV program for Dutch families.

As a result, the regulatory body has sent official warnings to online gambling operators whose names have not been shared, asking them to quickly adjust their advertising practices and bring palpable proof to KSA in this regard.

Additional but less serious problems were found at seven other iGaming operators. KSA has also asked them to take measures to correct their wrongdoings. Out of a total of 11 KOA licenses operators, just one was issued a simple recommendation by KSA.

Licensees were also reminded that it is their duty to always add KSA’s “Safe Play” messages to their advertisements in order to maintain the high advertising standards they agreed to comply with.

KSA Is on High Alert Amid the Legalization of Online Gambling

Upon the formal launch of the marketplace for licensed online gambling operators in October 2021 under the strict surveillance of the KOA Regime, KSA has been busy keeping a close eye on new licensees. At the end of January, KSA made the announcement that all offshore and illegal gambling sites will become unavailable.

The Gaming Authority has been sending warnings to new operators, informing them in regards to the thorough examination that their advertising campaigns would be subjected to. KSA has since been carefully reviewing the core criteria of all of its standards while getting ready to enforce action and fines against any operators whenever a specific standard or policy has been breached or violated.

New operators that have recently received their licenses will also be submitted to the same type of scrutiny. In order to further assist legal online gaming activities, KSA was given strict instructions from the Dutch government on how to tackle illegal forms of gaming. At the same time, KSA published much stricter regulations and bigger fines and penalties against providers that operate without a KOA license.