A Dutch authority wants Formula 1 team Sauber to omit a sponsor name affix at the Grand Prix in Zandvoort
Formula 1 team Sauber has been targeted by the Dutch Gaming Authority (Kansspelautoriteit). The racing team from Switzerland counts the gambling provider Stake among its title sponsors. However, the latter does not have a license to operate in the Netherlands. And this may become a problem ahead of the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort this weekend
While the government authority cannot impose a ban, it can ask Sauber to refrain from representing its sponsor Stake. This is exactly what has now happened. It is not yet known how Sauber will respond to this request.
Something similar happened last year at the Dutch Grand Prix: government authorities had objected to McLaren’s tobacco sponsor Velo. British American Tobacco (BAT) advertised its nicotine products under this brand. However, the authorities had no legal recourse due to an advertising ban that had not yet been ratified at the time: McLaren was allowed to continue advertising with Velo.
But why was the Velo anagram “Love” emblazoned on the side panels of McLaren cars? Not as a reaction to the authorities’ complaint, but as the result of a fan campaign that was planned well in advance. And on the front wings, the normal Velo logos including lettering could be seen as usual.
McLaren explained at the time: “All advertising on McLaren cars complies with the legal requirements and advertising standards of the countries in which we compete. ”
What bothers the authorities about Stake
So what can we expect in the Sauber/Stake case? The gambling authority refers specifically to the young and “vulnerable” target audience of the racing event and considers it inappropriate for Stake to use the Grand Prix stage to advertise its – in the absence of a Dutch license – illegal gambling.
This is because, according to Dutch law, Stake must prohibit Dutch people from accessing its offers. IP addresses from the Netherlands are blocked by means of geoblocking. However, according to the authorities, some Dutch people are still active on Stake’s gambling platforms.
Stake and Sauber: There was something there before
And so Sauber is facing trouble, but not unexpectedly: Back in February 2024, the Formula 1 team had deleted parts of its website at short notice because its title sponsor Stake was not allowed to appear in Switzerland due to a lack of license. In response, team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi assured: “We will comply with all local laws.”
He also said: “Where Stake is banned, where gambling advertising is prohibited, we will use a different name.” This is what happened (for example) in Australia: Sauber did not compete there with Stake in its name, but as the “Kick Sauber F1 Team”, thus omitting the critical name affix and putting its second title sponsor more in the spotlight. This variant could also be used at Zandvoort
How bans are “undermined” in Formula 1
By the way, “leveraging” advertising bans has a long tradition in Formula 1, and tobacco company BAT has also been involved in the past, for example as title sponsor of the BAR team in the 2000s. If tobacco advertising was not permitted, the lettering of the cigarette brand disappeared from the cars or was replaced by puns, garnished with a modified logo, sometimes without lettering or with a barcode
BAT and BAR were not an isolated case here, but the rule: other tobacco companies also apparently complied with the ban by removing the actual logos and slogans, but still found ways and means to draw attention to their products – often with allusions.
Even when a general ban on tobacco advertising was passed in 2006, tobacco advertising remained in Formula 1 – because there were still “loopholes” and the possibility of “hidden” advertising for tobacco products. See “Mission Winnow” by Philip Morris at Ferrari into the 2020s