Stake F1 ordered by KSA to change branding for Dutch Grand Prix
The Dutch Gaming Authority (KSA) has requested the Stake F1 team change its branding for the up coming Dutch Grand Prix.
Stake took on the title sponsorship of the the Sauber F1 team for the 2024 and 2025 F1 seasons after Alfa Romeo’s exit as title sponsor at the end of 2023. Audi is expected to come onboard from 2026 but until then the team is running officially as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, with cars emblazoned in full Stake livery (where possible).
This week KSA sent a formal request to the Formula 1 organisation and the Stake F1 team to make sure the team does not use Stake branding this weekend.
Stake doesn’t currently hold a license to participate in the Netherlands online gambling market and as such, they are not allowed to advertise their online casino and sport betting site under Dutch iGaming regulations.
Unlicensed operators are also expected to take measures preventing Dutch players from using their service, like geo-blocking. This is something KSA concede Stake does do. But according to KSA some players from the Netherlands are able to circumvent blocks and gamble at the site anyway.
The KSA request ended with:
“KSA finds it undesirable that illegal gambling is advertised at a Dutch event with the reach and size of Formula 1, also because the event attracts a lot of attention among vulnerable groups (minors and young adults). The board of the KSA has therefore urgently requested both Sauber and the organization of the Dutch Grand Prix not to drive under the name Stake”
This isn’t the first time the Stake F1 team has been asked to drop the Stake in Stake F1.
From the season’s outset Swiss based Sauber knew their title sponsor would ruffle feathers in certain countries depending on local gambling regulations and contingent branding has been available. In countries where Stake branding would be frowned upon, Stake’s sister company Kick, an online streaming service, has be used.
Sauber’s Alunni Bravi said before the start of the 2024 F1 season, “we will be fully complying with all the local applicable laws and where Stake is prohibited, so gambling advertising is prohibited, we will use a different name.”
Stake F1 cars round 13 in Hungary, Kick F1 cars round 14 in Belgium
The team’s cars have been Kick branded in a number of F1 rounds already this year including Australia, Spain, Qatar and Belgium. Where permitted, they’re been in Stake livery. In some cases, like rounds 13 and 14 in Hungary and Belgium respectively, it’s been a case of flipping from one week to the next.
Stake co-owner Ed Craven recognised the regulatory challenges this partnership would bring from the outset, telling media earlier in the year, “I don’t think there are many other brands that have attempted to pull something off on this scale.”
Sponsorship deals with global reach are also a challenge for regulators.
Dutch F1 fans tuning in to their local Grand Prix this weekend won’t be exposed to Stake advertising. But those same fans tuning in from their lounge rooms to watch the Hungarian Grand Prix a few weeks earlier were. A situation highlighting the limited reach of KSA’s advertising restrictions.
So much for the KSA request/order. Anyone who watched the Dutch Grand Prix would have noticed the Stake F1 team cars in full Stake livery, from practice through qualifying and race day.