Dutch gambling regulator slaps record €24.8 million fine on illegal online casinos
The Dutch gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa), reports that it has imposed its largest fines ever on two operators offering illegal gambling to Dutch players.
Novatech, which operates Qbet.com and 55Bet.com, was fined 24,846,000 euros. Fortaprime SRL, operator of multiple sites including amonbet101.com, supraplay.com, amonbet.com, bilucky.com, gxspins.com, kaasino.com, hiddenjack.com, and luckymax7.com, received a fine of 1,795,000 euros. Both companies had previously been issued administrative orders to stop illegal operations.
According to the Ksa, staff were able to create player accounts, make deposits, and place bets on the sites, actions that were prohibited. Neither company implemented technical measures to prevent participation from the Netherlands. Multiple aggravating factors were noted, including missing visible age verification and the ability for players to pay using cryptocurrencies and anonymous payment methods, which the regulator said facilitated money laundering.
“The high fines reflect the large sums these companies earned from gambling, primarily from Dutch players,” Ksa chairman Michel Groothuizen told AD. “Novatech earned hundreds of millions from its illegal offerings. A fine of 24 million euros sounds impressive, but without the 10 percent cap on global revenue set by Dutch law, the penalty would have exceeded 100 million euros— a figure more in line with the severity of the violations.”
Dutch law limits fines for such offenses to a maximum of 10 percent of worldwide revenue, preventing the regulator from imposing penalties fully proportional to estimated earnings from illegal gambling. The Ksa can, however, adjust fines based on estimated revenue.
The Ksa has previously issued substantial fines for unauthorized gambling. In 2024, Gammix, operator of rantcasino.com and betoriginal.com, was fined nearly 20 million euros.
Enforcement extends beyond direct fines. The regulator works with payment service providers, hosting companies, banks, and major tech firms to prevent illegal offerings. Fortaprime also reportedly used Dutch influencers to advertise its websites, a practice that can also result in sanctions.
