FDJ United‘s popular Unibet brand, which operates in the Netherlands as Optdeck, recently ran into some issues with the country’s gambling regulator, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA).
The company was hit with two official warnings after breaking strict Dutch rules aimed at reducing gambling harm.
Untargeted Ads on Buses
The first warning involved untargeted advertising, which the Netherlands banned back in 2023.
As part of its partnership with the Unibet Tietema Rockets cycling team, Unibet’s logo was supposed to appear only on the team’s bus used for transporting the squad.
However, the branded bus was used for other purposes beyond the cycling team, which went against the agreement and the advertising rules.
In response, the KSA issued a statement saying the cycling team “has been asked to stop using the bus immediately, and the bus and team vehicles will be provided with modified stickers without the Unibet logo.”
The statement further explained that “it is always the provider’s responsibility to guarantee that sponsorship agreements comply with the laws and regulations”, adding the bus in its current form will “no longer be allowed on the road as of 1 July 2025”.
That is the same date when the ban on sports sponsorship will go into effect.
Optdeck explained that managing multiple sponsorship agreements can be complex, and they were unaware that the bus was being used for other transport activities.
The Autoplay Function Error
The second warning came because Unibet’s BonusBuy feature included an autoplay function, which allows players to keep playing automatically after purchasing bonuses.
This is strictly prohibited under Dutch law for online gambling products aimed at Dutch players.
Optdeck said a third-party accidentally activated it shortly after launch. It was live for just two hours before being turned off.
Players who lost money during that time were reimbursed, and the company says it’s working to avoid this happening again.
The KSA noted that “because both violations were stopped immediately as soon as they were noticed, the KSA will leave it at a warning for now,” but warned that any future mistakes could lead to harsher penalties.
This all happens in the context of the Netherlands taking strong steps to reduce gambling harm. Since July 2023, the Netherlands has banned untargeted gambling ads on TV, radio, print, billboards, and in public places. Only highly targeted ads, under strict rules, are still allowed.
Along with these advertising limits, the KSA brought in mandatory deposit caps and checks to make sure players can afford their gambling.
These changes have helped cut the number of people losing over €1,000 ($1,177) a month from 4% down to about 1.2%.
Now, two years later, player protection continues to be the big focus in Dutch gambling policy.