KSA Warned Dutch Grand Prix and Team Sauber Not to Promote Illegal Games of Chance

Article by : Milena Petrovska Aug 28, 2024

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The Kansspelautoriteit, the Netherlands’ gambling industry regulator, has warned Team Sauber and the Dutch Grand Prix to refrain from promoting Stake at the F1 race in Zandvoort. Stake is considered an illegal operator in the Netherlands because the gambling site doesn’t own a valid license there.

The Dutch Grand Prix took place on 25 August, and it was the fifteenth round of the 2024 Formula One World Championship.

The Warning Came One Week Before the Race

Team Sauber and Stake extended their partnership in June. On August 20, the Dutch KSA published a press release on its website that strictly stated that “Stake does not have a license from the KSA and is therefore not allowed to offer games of chance in the Netherlands.”

As such, the KSA considers any form of advertising Stake illegal. Moreover, the press release noted that even though Stake has taken some measures to eliminate Dutch players’ participation on the platform, residents were still able to register and play.

In addition, the KSA noted that it was “undesirable” that an event with “the reach and size of Formula 1” should feature Stake’s name. In conclusion, the KSA urged Sauber and the Dutch Grand Prix not to resort towards promoting Stake’s brand.

One of the suggested alternative names was Kick Sauber. But, when the Dutch Grand Prix began, fans could easily see Stake’s logo on both Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu’s cars. As such, some argued that KSA’s warning and request weren’t followed through, even though the team ended up officially racing under “Kick F1.”

This isn’t the first time the Stake F1 team has faced issues of this magnitude.

Due to local regulations, the F1 team wasn’t able to use its name in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, China, and Bahrain, among other countries. To bypass local restrictions, Stake F1 Team Sauber competed under the same name that it used in the Dutch Grand Prix.

Stake’s Partnership With Team Sauber

After Alfa Romeo announced its departure, both team Sauber and Stake announced that the latter would become the team’s main sponsor. The two parties originally started working in 2022. In December 2023, they extended the partnership.

At first, Stake was Sauber’s co-title partner for the 2023 season. With the extension, Stake became the sole title partner of the F1 team. This partnership was followed by the announcement of the streaming platform Kick, which had naming rights on the chassis.

Thanks to the extension, the Swiss team will continue racing under the “Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber” until the 2026 season. After the two seasons, it will rebrand itself as Audi.

Dutch Grand Prix – Winners and Highlights

Ironically enough, the team that was in the spotlight due to the sponsor name drama ended up finishing last in the Dutch Grand Prix. Bottas finished 19th, and Zhou finished 20th. Lando Norris managed to win the race with a 1:30:45.519 time. Max Verstappen was second, while Charles Leclerc finished third.

Norris also had the fastest lap (1:13.817). Although Lewis Hamilton finished 8th, he had the second-fastest lap (1:13.878).