Holland Casino and VBET have had to make product adjustments after the Dutch Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) raised concerns over football bets offered by both companies.
The KSA revealed today that it had contacted Holland Casino and VBET regarding both companies offering own goals as a betting market on both their platforms.
Offering bets on the number of own goals in a football game is considered a risk to sports integrity by the KSA and various other gambling national regulators.
In its official guidance on sports integrity, the KSA lists bets on own goals alongside time penalties, the retirement of Formula One cars, red flags in races, and player injuries as examples of ‘negative or easily manipulated events’.
SBC News has reached out to Holland Casino and VBET for comment. However, the KSA has confirmed that both companies have removed their own goals as a betting option on their respective sportsbook platforms.
“The KSA has addressed both providers regarding this matter,” the regulator’s statement read. “Subsequently, both Holland Casino Online and VBET adjusted their offerings and removed own-goal bets.
“They have also taken additional control measures to prevent recurrence. With that, the matter is sufficiently settled for the time being as far as the KSA is concerned.”
The KSA has good reason to closely consider what types of bets operated should be allowed to offer, with respect to sports integrity safeguarding and match manipulation prevention.
According to the International Betting Integrity Association’s (IBIA) quarterly and year reports, football is consistently one of the two most at-risk sports when it comes to match manipulation attempts and suspicious betting, alongside tennis.
The KSA’s action against the offers also comes amid continuing political scrutiny of the Dutch online gaming market, which has grown substantially since re-regulation under the KOA Act in October 2024 but which has also stagnated according to the regulator itself.
Political concerns about betting, its societal impact and visibility led to significant advertising restrictions being implemented in 2024, including a ban on sports sponsorship. In March this year, opposition parties went a step further and called for a total ban on gambling advertising.