Dutch crime syndicate hijacking expired websites to promote illegal casinos: Report

Criminals are reportedly hijacking expired domain names on a large scale and using them to promote illegal online casinos, according to AD. According to the Dutch Gambling Authority (Kansspelautoriteit), which oversees the gambling market, there has been a sharp rise in expired .nl domain names being repurposed by criminal groups.

One of the affected sites is that of the Arjan van Dijk Groep, once a leading name in events and parties in Noord-Brabant. Founder Arjan van Dijk sold his company, including the website, in 1996. The Van Dijk Groep remained active in the events business for 25 years until the coronavirus pandemic led to its bankruptcy.

After the collapse, its domain name was taken over and now redirects visitors to pages full of illegal casino advertisements, which, according to the Gambling Authority, increasingly happens to expired Dutch websites.

A spokesperson for the Gambling Authority said the agency would prefer to shut down the fraudulent sites directly, but lacks the legal power to do so. “At this moment, we are not legally allowed to take those sites offline ourselves,” the spokesperson said.