Role model ban: Dutch Ksa tells operators to end influencer deals
The Netherlands’ gambling regulator has told licensed online operators to end any remaining partnerships with influencers and streamers, after stating that it had observed uncertainty among operators about who qualifies as a “role model” under the country’s tightening advertising rules.
In a press release, the Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa) said it had issued further guidance on how the “role model ban” should be enforced, warning that online personalities are squarely in scope because younger audiences are drawn to them and seek to emulate them.
Concern over influencers’ pull on younger players
The Ksa said the restriction is designed to protect vulnerable groups, particularly young adults, from marketing that can make gambling appear normal, glamorous or risk-free. The regulator told licence holders to move quickly if they have any active collaborations that fall foul of the ban.
In its guidance, the Ksa said influencers and streamers “may therefore under no circumstances be used to praise or promote (online) games of chance”, and added that operators “have been called on to end any collaborations in this area as soon as possible”.
The regulator also warned that the ban is not limited to the best-known online celebrities. It said that influencers, bloggers, vloggers and streamers should be treated as role models once their reach is large enough to be attractive for recruitment or advertising, a definition that could capture smaller creators with highly engaged audiences.
Blask’s “Customer Profile” snapshot for the Netherlands underlines why the KSA is so focused on online personalities: the audience skews young and is heavily reached through social platforms.
According to Blask, 20% of players are aged 18–24, with the largest segment (35%) aged 25–34; a further 25% are 35–44. That means three-quarters fall under 45, the very cohort regulators routinely describe as more susceptible to persuasive online marketing.
The same sample suggests a broad, mainstream profile rather than a niche one: half are employed for wages (50%), while students make up 20%.
Just as importantly for advertising policy, the most common brand “touchpoints” are explicitly digital: social media (45%), internet advertising (35%), online search (30%) and YouTube (25%).
Illegal gambling content
The clarification comes after a year in which the Ksa has increasingly focused on social media promotion, especially content that points Dutch audiences to unlicensed operators.
Last summer, the authority issued what it described as its first penalty order against an influencer for promoting illegal gambling. In that case, YouTuber LeftlanePapi was accused of repeatedly livestreaming gambling on an unlicensed site and directing viewers to take part.
A Ksa spokesperson said at the time: “The number of reports of influencers posting images on various social media platforms about how they gamble illegally has been increasing recently. The KSA takes these reports very seriously, because these influencers appeal to a (very) young target group with their activities.”
The regulator framed its approach as a mix of swift takedown demands and escalating sanctions. “With its new approach, the KSA opts for a two-track policy,” it said. “After establishing a violation, influencers will receive a message that they must stop their activities within 48 hours and that illegal content must be removed. If the influencer does not do so, the KSA will approach the social media platform so that the harmful content is removed in any case.”
By October, the authority had widened its enforcement, fining three influencers for promoting illegal betting providers, according to a report published at the time. The Ksa said the creators had 48 hours to remove content and faced repeat penalties if it returned.
A European push for standards
The Dutch measures sit alongside a broader European debate about influencer marketing in gambling, with industry groups attempting to head off heavier regulation by setting voluntary rules.
Last October, the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) launched what it called “the first industry-wide framework of its kind in Europe’s gambling industry”, introducing a pledge aimed at improving transparency, screening influencers, and monitoring compliance.
The EGBA said the pledge “represents a significant step forward in addressing the fast-paced evolution of online marketing, particularly the growing use of influencers in the gambling industry.” Maarten Haijer, the association’s secretary general, argued that the industry should raise its own bar: “As the online advertising landscape continues to evolve, we’re proud to lead the industry with the first comprehensive standards for influencer marketing in Europe’s gambling sector.”
The Ksa, however, has been signalling that voluntary codes are no substitute for hard limits where young audiences are concerned. Alongside its advertising enforcement, the authority has also been scrutinising how licensed firms steer player behaviour more broadly.
The Ksa’s tougher line on influencer-led promotion also feeds into a familiar Dutch dilemma: how to protect players without weakening channelisation and pushing attention towards the black market. At a European conference last year, industry speakers warned that Dutch deposit limits and a tightening advertising environment were accelerating leakage to illegal sites. At the time, they cited figures suggesting that only about 49% of online gambling revenue was going to licensed operators, meaning roughly half of the market was still flowing to unregulated platforms.
Elsewhere, industry voices are trying to harness influencers rather than bar them outright. In the Philippines, Julius “Banoobs” Mariano, founder of YGS Live, said: “If you check the scale, the regulated side is a fraction of the market. That’s why awareness matters,” and added: “We all have social responsibility,” urging creators to steer audiences towards licensed play because “The very least is to promote something that is legal, which is regulated.”
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