The Dutch national lottery, Nederlandse Loterij, has initiated legal action against the gambling site Skyhills, marking its third case as Dutch operators intensify pressure on the offshore market.
The state-owned lottery instructed Skyhills’ operators and directors to cease targeting Dutch players. CEO Arjan Blok of Nederlandse Loterij mentioned that Skyhills had employed advertising tactics, including on TikTok, to attract Dutch consumers.
“Skyhills explicitly targets Dutch players and especially young people with deceptive advertising,” Blok stated. “They can gamble there completely unprotected, with all the associated risks.”
Following a cease-and-desist letter, Nederlandse Loterij confirmed that Skyhills had been made inaccessible in the Netherlands.
Lalabet Appeal Adds to Legal Campaign
Nederlandse Loterij had previously initiated legal proceedings against two other offshore operators, Lalabet and Qbet. The Qbet case is set to commence later this year.
In June, a Dutch court ruled largely in favor of Nederlandse Loterij in the Lalabet case. It concluded that the site’s operators and directors had acted unlawfully and must halt targeting players in the Netherlands.
The defendants were also instructed to reveal information about Lalabet’s ownership and corporate structure.
Although the court acknowledged that trust administrators and local representatives facilitating illegal gambling sites could be held accountable, there was insufficient evidence that the Curaçao trust firm DECC was aware of providing services to a company illegally targeting the Dutch market. Nederlandse Loterij is appealing the court’s ruling.
It also urged for stronger government action before a parliamentary gambling debate on Thursday (September 3).
Nederlandse Loterij endorsed proposals to enhance the Dutch regulator Kansspelautoriteit’s authority against illegal operators. Blok also suggested criminal enforcement and close collaboration with service and technology providers should be considered.
“We must combat illegal gambling sites where players are left completely vulnerable collectively. Banks, payment providers, and hosting services also bear responsibility in this,” Blok emphasized.
Nederlandse Loterij cautioned against a total advertising ban for licensed online gambling operators. Since 2023, there has been a ban on untargeted gambling ads.
The organization argued that further restricting the legal market could make offshore operators more appealing and confuse consumers.
VNLOK Finds Illegal Ads Dominate Meta Platforms
Meanwhile, research from Dutch online gambling association VNLOK revealed that unlicensed operators accounted for the majority of gambling ads reaching Dutch users on Facebook and Instagram.
VNLOK analyzed 65,000 gambling advertisements with the highest reach. It classified 96.5% of ads in May as illegal, decreasing slightly to 93.7% in June.
Illegal advertising was prevalent across numerous Facebook pages. In June, 98.8% of gambling ads featured on identified pages directed users to unlicensed operators.
VNLOK noted that operators increasingly used cloaking, Telegram redirects, and the branding of reputable licensed companies to evade detection.
The removal rates were relatively low. Meta removed 11% of over 60,000 illegal ads tracked in May and 15% in June.
Chairman Björn Fuchs of VNLOK expressed concern that illegal gambling ads continued to appear “significantly” and jeopardized player protection.
The association initiated legal action against Meta in June and lodged a complaint with the European Commission. It advocated for gambling advertisers targeting Dutch consumers to undergo license verification before publishing ads.