The Kansspelautoriteit ordered TonyBet to remove an advert that it said used recognisable references to professional footballers, breaching the Netherlands' role-model advertising ban. The regulator said TonyBet complied swiftly and must not use the advert or a similar one again.
The order makes clear the KSA applies the role-model ban to recognisable depictions, not only actual athletes.
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The KSA ran its “Laat je niet zoek spelen” campaign with FCB Amsterdam during the 2026 World Cup to raise young adults’ awareness of online gambling and sports betting risks. Content creator Noah Zeeuw said the campaign’s material had been viewed more than 1.2 million times and shared repeatedly; the campaign also directed audiences to information and a sports-betting knowledge test.
Gambling regulators from Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Switzerland issued a joint warning about unlicensed prediction-market platforms during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. They said they would strengthen cross-border monitoring and, where needed, act against platforms that breach national gambling rules. The statement cited concerns including weak age and identity checks, potential fraud and gambling-related harm.
A study of World Cup 2026 broadcasts counted 9,360 prediction-market logos and 6,429 betting-operator logos in match footage, reportedly including brands shown together. The report says the international FIFA feed carried the same advertising to viewers in Italy, where the 2019 gambling-advertising ban applies, and questions whether broadcasters could face liability under existing AGCOM guidance.
A Gaming Compliance International study estimated that 95% of qualifying illegal stream views during the 2026 World Cup carried unregulated gambling advertising. The study counted 174.3 billion views of streams lasting at least 90 seconds, measuring views rather than individual viewers.
Reportedly, Brazil’s tournament legislation provides an advertising exception for betting sponsors at the Women’s World Cup in 2027. The law passed in June 2026 permits brand exposure by companies not yet regulated in Brazil.