Dutch Lottery expands legal crackdown on illegal gambling sites

The Dutch Lottery announced a second lawsuit against operators behind an illegal gambling website while a separate case involving another site moves toward its first court hearing Thursday, escalating its legal campaign against unlicensed online casinos in the Netherlands.

The state-run operator of Staatsloterij and Lotto is suing the operators and directors behind the online casino Qbet, demanding that the platform be shut down and remain inaccessible. The move comes as a previously filed case against the illegal gambling site Lalabet is set for its first hearing Thursday, after that lawsuit was initiated last year.

The Dutch Lottery said Qbet is currently the largest illegal gambling site operating in the Netherlands. Through the legal action, the company said it aims to protect players “tegen illegale, risicovolle praktijken.”

The Kansspelautoriteit, the Dutch gambling regulator, imposed a record fine of nearly 25 million euros on Novatech Solutions last month, the company behind Qbet, for offering illegal online gambling services. The regulator said the fine was increased due to the large amounts of money the company allegedly earned through its operations.

According to the Kansspelautoriteit, Novatech Solutions failed to take measures to prevent gambling from the Netherlands. The authority also said the operation facilitated money laundering because users were able to pay with cryptocurrencies or other anonymous payment methods.

The Dutch Lottery said its legal strategy is aimed at all parties enabling the illegal site, not only the “directe overtreder.” It said it is seeking accountability across the full network supporting Qbet’s operations.