KSA Warns VriendenLoterij for Inappropriate Advertisement

The Dutch Gaming Authority (KSA) has issued a warning to VriendenLoterij for an inappropriate advertorial in a major Dutch newspaper. The VriendenLoterij immediately had the article taken offline.

Lotteries regularly use so-called “winner stories” to promote their games of chance. This is allowed, but in such a story gambling may not be presented as a solution to personal or financial problems. The KSA received a report from a citizen that the VriendenLoterij told in such a winner story about a participant who was able to pay medical bills through the prize he won.

By presenting participation in a game of chance as a solution to personal or financial problems, people may spend more money on it than they originally intended. According to the KSA, it is therefore not permitted and inappropriate to advertise by telling winner stories that have to do with, for example, homelessness, medical problems, funeral costs or the payment of overdue bills.