The six-month probe looked into illegal gambling sites, including many listed as not being linked to the Dutch self-exclusion platform Cruks, being advertised via magazines and online newspapers.

As part of this, the research team contacted 42 editors about the issue to inform them about the issues from promoting these sites.

The regulator said: “This research proves that players are sometimes seduced into illegal gambling and even playing without Cruks without realising it.

“The KSA therefore calls on players to always first consult the Gambling Guide on Kansspelautoriteit.nl.

“This lists all licensed providers that are allowed to offer gambling in the Netherlands. Illegal providers do not have a licence and do not protect players against problematic gambling or gambling addiction.”

The investigation went beyond looking into direct web links to illegal providers, also taking into account the use of brand recommendations, logos of providers and images of Dutch banks.

When contacted, the editors immediately removed the links to the illegal gambling sites, and each organisation also received a letter on how to prevent violations in future.

KSA raises concerns about tipster

The news follows on from the KSA’s investigation into tipster site Analyse Master.

While no violations were found in that case, the regulator still raised concerns about its popularity with young people, who are more susceptible to gambling addiction.

KSA chair Michel Groothuizen said: “The current advertising bans apply specifically to gambling providers, and not to third parties such as Analyse Master.

“The fact that there are channels on social media that promote sports betting among young adults is a very undesirable and worrying development, because young adults are vulnerable and susceptible to gambling addiction.

“I am pleased that state secretary Struycken also announced in his recent vision on gambling that he wants to adjust the advertising rules, so that we as a supervisory authority can also take active action against these types of parties.”

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