The Dutch Gaming Authority (KSA) recently issued two formal warnings to operator Optdeck, as its Unibet brand was suspected of violating advertising regulations and illegally enabling the autoplay feature.
The first warning stemmed from Optdeck's failure to comply with Dutch regulations on non-targeted advertising. As a brand under Optdeck, Unibet sponsored the Unibet Tietema Rockets cycling team, which displayed the brand logo on a bus used for non-sporting activities, exceeding the original sponsorship scope. Optdeck claimed to be unaware of this situation and has now requested the team to stop using the bus and to remove or cover the Unibet logo.
The second violation involved the prohibited "BonusBuy" autoplay feature, which allows players to automatically continue purchasing rewards without manual intervention. This feature was banned due to its association with uncontrolled gambling. Optdeck explained that this feature was accidentally activated by a third party and lasted only two hours, during which affected players were compensated, and the company has strengthened its preventive measures.
It is noteworthy that a recent national study on gambling issues in Saudi Arabia pointed out that the failure of operators to effectively intervene is a major concern in the Dutch market.
Although the regulatory body only issued warnings this time, it emphasized that operators must bear full compliance responsibilities and warned that further violations would result in more severe penalties.
