Aztec Forest

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The three-hour debate on the Dutch gambling sector centred on a number of issues, including the illegal market, advertising and the legal age limit of 18.

Ten committee members, spanning the full political spectrum, addressed a number of research papers, sector activity reports and Justice State Secretary KT van Bruggen’s April 2026-dated letter, assessing the risks of gambling, and acknowledging the KSA’s estimation that channelisation had dropped below 50%.

While there were differing views on much of the content, one area in which Dutch MPs were united was the illegal market.

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Sponsorships and advertising with sports teams was also flagged as according to the report, voluntary efforts had failed to reduce the industry’s exposure. 

With int he report Dr Matt Gaskell MBE observed that “overall exposure (including shirts, hoardings, logos, sponsorship and related marketing) during live sports programmes does not show that self-regulation has reduced exposure meaningfully”. 

Voluntary efforts have included Premier League football opting to ban front-of-shirt gambling sponsorships, as of the beginning of this current season. Although, branding remains on training kits, shirt sleeves and across stadium advertisements. 

What is Aztec Forest?

During the livestream, the president stated that he had spoken with a woman who said her 26-year-old son had taken his own life because of online betting. He also mentioned hearing from a bettor who had racked up BRL2 million ($388,410) in debt in just three months of wagering.

Lula said he intends to discuss the matter with his team and analyse potential measures to consider the social impact of online betting.

What the president does not acknowledge is that the government relies on revenue from the sector. In just the first seven months of 2026, BRL8.747 billion generated by sports betting has already flowed into public coffers. The Federal Revenue Service estimates the total could reach BRL16 billion by the end of the year. In 2025, nearly BRL9 billion was collected from sportsbooks.