Holland event highlights industry frustrations
Regulatory-illegal impact worry operators, Football sponsorships value, EU regs &Co
Hello, on Gaming&Co today,
Holland’s regulated operators unhappy as regulatory heat ramps up
Gambling companies pay over the odds for football sponsorships
EU adds ESG to regulatory menu, UK sets out crypto framework
More Benelux unhappiness: Belgium bemoan ease of illegal access
News shorts: New land-based casinos in France, Allwyn, Ontario
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Holland’s black market woes
Gaming in Holland event highlights regulatory and channelisation worries for regulated sector
Crossing channels: The illegal gambling market in the Netherlands will be larger than the legal market in 2026, analyst firm H2 Gambling Capital has warned. Speaking at the Gaming in Holland event that took place in Amsterdam this week, Josh Hodgson, COO of H2, predicted a channelisation rate of just 47% for next year (picture below) - a stark contrast to many other European markets that average 80% to 90%.
By 2030, the illegal online gambling market will be worth €1.45bn in GGR, while the legal supply will generate €1.2bn, he added, while the overall Dutch gambling market is expected to hit record GGR of €5bn in 2024, but is predicted to decline to €4.8bn this year.
Hodgson also revealed that Unibet had strengthened its position as Dutch market leader in the past 12 months at 24%. Rivals TOTO (15%), BetCity (12%), Bet365 (11%) and Holland Casino (6%) all lost three to four percentage points during the period.
Take nothing for granted: The negative news from this year’s event follows the downbeat outlook that dominated last year’s edition of Gaming in Holland. In addition, Renske Fikkers, Head of the Supervision Department at the KSA regulatory authority, warned the audience that licence holders could not assume that they would be granted new licenses when these come up for renewal.
Fikkers said the KSA will take into account all aspects of their behaviours, and this scrutiny would also include providers (rather than being limited to operators).
Unified approach needed
The prospect of reform of gambling policy in the Netherlands was thrown into doubt this week after a collapse of the four-party governing coalition. On Tuesday, Geert Wilders, leader of the biggest coalition party, the far right PVV, stormed out of an emergency meeting called by PM Dick Schoof as part of an effort to iron out their differences.
With elections now likely in October, Frans van Steenis, associate partner at Hague Corporate Affairs, urged the regulated sector to come up with a unified approach. "The time to work is now,” he told delegates at Gaming in Holland.
Meanwhile, Betsson has pulled out of its proposed acquisition of Holland Gaming Technology and Holland Power Gaming, after the Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) failed to approve the deal by the agreed ‘long-stop’ date. After the cancellation of the agreement, first announced in February 2024, Betsson said it will claim back its €26.7m payment, minus a break fee.
Yellow card for BetMGM: The KSA has formally reprimanded BetMGM for publishing an advertorial featuring 17-year old Barcelona star Lamine Yamal. Under Dutch law, the use of ‘role models’ in gambling advertising is prohibited, while special protections are in place to shield minors and other vulnerable groups from such promotional content.
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Propping up the market
Gambling sponsorships’ key role in financing football with firms prepared to pay over-the-odds
Over the top: Gambling operators pay an average of 38% over market rate for front-of-shirt sponsorship deals in the Premier League, according to a new industry benchmarking report. The latest Premier League Fair Market Sponsorship Values report, from industry publication The Sponsor, warns that some clubs could lose more than half of their current front-of-shirt sponsorship income when the voluntary ban on these deals comes into effect ahead of the start of the 2026/27 season.
Clubs like AFC Bournemouth are among the most exposed, The Sponsor said. The south coast club's reported £6.1m-a-year front-of-shirt deal with gambling sponsor BJ88 is 49% above fair market value, according to its modelling.
Sean Connell, editor of The Sponsor, warned that gambling brands - which sponsor 11 of the 20 clubs - are “currently propping up the Premier League sponsorship market”. “One commercial director told this publication that their highest offer from a non-gambling brand was less than half of what a gambling sponsor had put on the table. That shows you the scale of the problem,” he said.
As G&Co reported last week, crypto operators - which already have partnerships in place with 14 Premier League clubs - are likely to fill some of the void here.
Commenting on the topic, Matt House, CEO of sports marketing agency SportQuake, said: “Key market signals suggest that crypto exchanges are likely to become major front-of-shirt buyers, as the Premier League’s ban on betting companies purchasing this inventory takes effect in the 2026/27 season.”
Options on the table: However, the ban on front-of-shirt deals does not mean the end of betting partnerships in the Premier League. Russell Gershon, director of Connecting Brands, predicted that up to half of the clubs will look to have a betting brand on their sleeve, while training kit deals will be an attractive alternative for operators.
“This asset is hugely valuable as the coach will likely wear this a lot of the time, especially at press conferences and on match day, which delivers very good impressions,” he told Insider Sport.
ESG added to European regulatory rollouts
EU-wide rules to apply to environment, digital services and money laundering, but not gambling
Dance to ESG: European gambling companies will soon have to report on their environmental, sustainability and governance (ESG) work as part of the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive that requires firms with more than 500 employees to comply with the ESG regulations. By 2029 companies of all sizes will have to comply with the directive, which follows the EU’s implementation of the European Accessibility Act (EAA), Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act).
Rocket from the crypt: The EU is also set to monitor cryptocurrency movements as part of its latest anti-money laundering directive announced last year and commonly known as AMLD7. Speaking of crypto, IG Group has become the first major UK trading platform to allow retail clients to buy and sell cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum.
The company launched a new crypto-trading service this week in partnership with the crypto-asset management firm Uphold. IG’s decision follows the UK government’s announcement at the end of April to subject firms offering cryptoasset services to “new, clear rules, boosting investor confidence and driving growth” as part of its Plan for Change policy.
Around 12% of UK adults now own crypto, a figure that has risen from just 4% in 2021, and UK chancellor Rachel Reeves published draft legislation for regulating cryptoassets during the UK Fintech Week in April.
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BAGO’ nails
Belgium’s operators lament ease of access to illegal websites
Ring the alarm: The Belgian Association of Licensed Gaming Operators (BAGO) has called for stronger measures against illegal iGaming websites that target the country following the release of a study that showed that one in four Belgian players visit unlicensed gambling platforms. The study, commissioned by the association, also highlighted an “alarming situation” where 47% of self-excluded players returned to gambling activities via illegal channels that “do not apply any form of control, such as age verification, EPIS (self-exclusion) registration or deposit limits”, said BAGO.
Easy does it: The figures relating to young adults were “particularly worrying” as 65% of men aged 18-21 said they had already gambled illegally and 97% of them recognised at least one illegal gambling brand. The association’s announcement follows a 22 May TV broadcast by RTBF that showed how easy it is for Belgian players to come into contact with illegal gambling sites.
Emmanuel Mewissen, vice-chairman of BAGO, said the trade group fully supports giving Belgium’s Gaming Commission “the means to develop into a powerful regulator”. “Only in this way can it effectively tackle illegal providers, protect consumers and maintain a well-regulated private market,” he added.
Broad call: Calls for regulations that address the concerns of regulated operators, centering around channelisation or the ease with which illegal brands can advertise, are being heard with increasing regularity in neighbouring Netherlands, France and Germany. In Belgium, legal iGaming companies also fear the impact that the recently-introduced sports sponsorship ban will have on their brand visibility and ability to compete meaningfully with illegal operators.
News shorts
The French department of Maine-et-Loire has been approved by the Ministry of the Interior to host a second casino on its territory after the one in Saumur. The new establishment will be located in the municipality of Le Lion-d'Angers, will be part of a project estimated at between €15m-€20m and is expected to generate €3m for the municipality. The casino operator will be designated during H1 2026.
Belgian casino operator Golden Palace has launched work that will see it open a fourth casino in France at Digne-les-Bains in Haute Provence. The group is also working on a casino in Thonon-les-Bains, with both establishments due to open in May 2027.
Allwyn said it experienced a strong start to the year with sustained momentum in the execution of its growth strategy, including the success of LottoItalia in the bid for the Italian lottery for a nine-year concession. Q1 sales were up 6% at €2.2bn and GGR was up 7% at €362m vs. Q1 2024.
The Autorité Nationale des Jeux has been designated as the body to administer France’s platform to fight against sports betting manipulation and fraud. ANJ President Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin signed the agreement in the company of Marie Barsacq, Minister for Sports and youth.
Marty Deacon, a Senator in Ontario, has reintroduced a bill that could “limit the number, scope or location" of sports betting advertisements in the province. Bill S-211 would force the Canadian federal government to craft national guidelines for the marketing and advertising of online sportsbooks and could propose ways of limiting their “number, scope or location". In 2023 Deacon introduced her Bill S-269 that included similar legislation, it passed in the Senate but was dropped by this year’s federal election.
Industry stakeholders are likely to state that they have already committed to not using athletes and celebrities in the marketing and will also point out that advertising allows regulated sites to attract customers to legal and licensed operators.
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Calendar
Events: 10-12 June: SBC Summit Malta, 5 Jun: Gaming in Holland, Amsterdam, 26 Jun: Gaming in Spain, Madrid
Contact
Get in touch with Jake Pollard to find out more about Gaming&Co: jake@gamingandco.info