KSA launches youth gambling campaigns as Meta dispute escalates
The Dutch Gambling Authority has unveiled two campaigns targeting youth exposure to gambling content, as trade body VNLOK prepares to take Meta to court over illegal advertising.
The Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Dutch Gambling Authority, has launched two campaigns aimed at reducing the impact of gambling advertising and gambling-related harm on young people, according to SBC News.
The initiatives arrive as the Dutch government pushes for a complete ban on gambling advertising, part of a broader regulatory overhaul that also includes proposed restrictions on betting bonuses and a sector-wide deposit limit for online gambling.
Even as advertising faces removal, the KSA says it remains concerned about the range of channels through which young people encounter this content, including social media, online video, conventional adverts and gaming environments.
The first campaign, OpenOverGokkenm, is designed to help Dutch parents discuss exposure with their children, encouraging them to "talk to your children about gambling in time". It takes its name from the OpenOverGokken.nl platform, which launched in 2025.
The second campaign, Gambling Stop, is aimed at young adults showing early signs of problems, urging them to "take timely action" before harm escalates. Its banner message states that "every moment is a Gambling stop moment", and that people do not "have to wait for a special or life-changing moment to decide to stop gambling".
A KSA statement said earlier campaigns had focused on how someone could rebuild their life after taking a break from the activity, whereas the new messaging concentrates on the decision point itself. The authority said it wants to use "relatable situations" to make that step easier, while also showing that stopping can bring "more peace, relief, and room for other things in daily life".
The campaigns land against a backdrop of sustained public and political concern in the Netherlands since the regulated online market opened in October 2021. That concern has been the principal driver behind the move towards an advertising ban, with politicians and the public alarmed by the volume of marketing from licensed operators since the market's launch.
Licensed operators have countered that advertising is necessary to steer bettors towards regulated, taxed platforms rather than unlicensed offshore sites.
The KSA's focus on social media as a route of youth exposure comes as the Dutch trade body VNLOK moves to summon Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, before a court over how widely illegal operators are able to advertise on its platforms.
The regulator has repeatedly criticised large technology companies over this issue. KSA chair Michel Groothuizen has said such firms earn "a lot of money from the ads of illegal gambling providers, in the Netherlands, in Europe, and worldwide", according to SBC News.