Featuring in an advertising campaign called ‘Deal or no Deal,’ the use of famous people – that directly appeal to youngsters and young adults – to advertise gambling in the Netherlands is strictly prohibited by the KSA.

The KSA intervened after the NPL ran the campaign, which the NPL then investigated. The KSA concluded that the NPL had used a person that had a large reach among young people in the Netherlands and issued the warning.

In its statement, the KSA revealed that it chose to warn the NPL instead of fining it because of the amendment of the regulations in the country while the investigation was ongoing.

The ban on using famous people – with a youthful audience reach – to advertise gambling was put in place after 30 June 2022 and was designed to safeguard young, impressionable people from the dangers of problem gambling.

In recent months, since the ban took effect, the KSA has issued some warnings over the use of famous people in advertising campaigns – including two online operators.

At the time, the regulator said in a statement: "The KSA had to warn two providers of online games of chance.

“After 30 June, they still used the voices of famous Dutch people. That is also covered by the ban. In one case, this was in a TV commercial, in the other case, a podcast.

“After the warning, they stopped. If the providers had not done so, they would have received a cease-and-desist order.”

In the last few days, the KSA reminded operators of the rules in the lead-up to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.