The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has intensified its collaboration with sports associations and clubs to combat illegal gambling advertising. Since the implementation of the ban on untargeted advertising, the KSA has been monitoring advertising by gambling companies more closely. To combat illegal advertising in sports, the KSA is working more closely with sports organisations.

Consultation with sports associations and clubs

After the ban on sports sponsorship came into effect, the KSA (Dutch Sports Federation) wrote to all sports associations about their responsibilities in this regard. The KSA found no significant violations by license holders after the ban was implemented. However, the regulator noted that confusion can arise, for example, when foreign clubs play with the logo of a legal sponsor in that country on their shirts. The KSA supports sports organisations where possible by explaining the rules and providing input on their application.

Positive examples

Several matches have shown that clubs are making efforts to correctly implement the ban. For example, Olympiacos Piraeus played in the CEV Cup match (volleyball) against Draisma Dynamo in Apeldoorn wearing shirts without the logo of a foreign gambling provider.

Consultations were held with the KNVB (Royal Dutch Football Association) before the match between AZ and Jagiellonia Białystok on December 18. The shirts displayed a logo from a score website. This logo differed significantly from that of the gambling provider, and the name was also different. Furthermore, no references to gambling services were found on the score website.

The KSA also sees matches in which players play with blank shirts or with shirts from its own foundation.

Extra supervision at international competitions

There were also situations where the rules were not met. Following matches like the Ajax vs. Internazionale and Go Ahead Eagles vs. Stuttgart matches, letters were sent to the clubs involved. A banner from an unlicensed gambling provider was visible during the Go Ahead Eagles vs. Stuttgart match. However, this gambling provider was not visible in the stadium itself or in the regular Dutch TV broadcast. For international matches, various image recordings are used, which can include virtual billboards. For the Dutch market, the gambling provider was replaced by an alternative advertisement. When distributing a summary in the Netherlands, part of the imagery in which the sponsor message was visible was mistakenly used. As a result, clubs and associations were again reminded of the importance of due care in international productions and summaries.

Continued attention

The KSA continues to consult with sports associations and clubs in the coming period and actively monitor compliance with the ban on untargeted advertising by gambling providers. Enforcement action will be taken where necessary. With this approach, the KSA contributes to a sports environment free of advertising for (illegal) gambling services.

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Ireland’s Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan has signed an order to commence key aspects of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 to allow the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) to begin issuing remote and in-person betting licences.

The signing of the commencement order, which comes into effect on Thursday, 5 February 2026, enables the Authority to start accepting and processing applications, and issuing licenses for remote and in-person betting operators. It also commences the necessary enforcement and oversight and complaints mechanisms that underpin the new licensing framework. In addition, the order commences those sections of the Act that amend and repeal existing legislation on the statute book. In particular, it will repeal the Totalisator Act 1929 and the Betting Act 1931.

Minister O’Callaghan said: “Today marks another important step towards replacing Ireland’s outdated gambling laws with a streamlined and simplified licensing framework. This reflects the nature of modern gambling and takes into account the harms associated with problem gambling, by providing safeguards to protect people from those harms, especially children.

“The Authority can issue licences for new entrants as soon as is feasible, licence remote operators from 1 July 2026 and in-person operators from 1 December 2026, when their existing licences, issued by the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, expire.

“The Act provides the Authority with the necessary enforcement powers to take appropriate and focused action where licensees fail to comply with licensing terms, conditions and regulations, and to deal with unlicensed operators, those operating without the correct licence, or those in contravention of the terms of a licence issued by the Authority.”

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The Romanian National Gambling Authority (ONJN) has formally urged the Ministry of Finance to introduce emergency measures aimed at strengthening the country’s self-exclusion system. ONJN President Vlad-Cristian Soare said the regulator has submitted a draft emergency ordinance (OUG) designed to close loopholes in existing legislation and bolster player protection.

The ONJN launched Romania’s gambling self-exclusion platform in 2020 under legislation GD no. 111/2016, Art. 130. However, there have been discussions for some time over the shortcomings of the programme, and industry groups such as the EGBA have been vocal in proposing improvements.

Last year, the ONJN ordered gambling operators to apply a “single account principle” for self-exclusion, meaning that self-exclusion requests automatically apply across all platforms. That clarification closed a loophole that allowed players who had self-excluded with one operator to switch to another and continue to gamble, but issues remain.

Soare assumed leadership of ONJN in May 2025 following the resignation of his predecessor after a damning audit report. He said: “I promised self-exclusion would not remain a project that only exists on paper like how I found it when I took office. It will be implemented in three stages: operation under the current framework (already achieved), legislative amendments to fix dysfunctions, and the rollout of a modern IT solution (now underway).”

In a post on LinkedIn post, Soare said the priority measures would include:

• A centralised and simplified self-exclusion network covering both online and land-based gambling providers.

• Defined exclusion periods: Players would be able to select from fixed durations, including indefinite bans from gambling, with mandatory cooling-off periods to prevent premature withdrawal from the programme.

• Deposit recovery: Operators would be required to refund deposits if self-excluded players were mistakenly allowed to gamble.

• Stricter penalties: Breaches of self-exclusion rules could trigger fines ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 lei (€9800–€19,600). Repeated or severe violations could lead to licence suspensions.

• Improved visibility: Clearer terminology, mandatory self-exclusion information on gambling websites and QR codes in gambling halls linking to national resources would make the system more accessible.

Soare also signalled plans to involve Romanian police in enforcement and collaborate with the National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics. The goal is to build a modern, cost-efficient IT infrastructure capable of supporting a fully integrated self-exclusion regime.

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