Dutch gambling regulator to issue fines for illegal gambling advertising
The KSA has warned of weekly fines after the sites promoted unlicensed offerings.
The Netherlands.- The Dutch gambling regulator, the KSA has imposed a penalty payment order on three parties for advertising illegal gambling, including on the website Casinoscout.nl. It said that it SBM Holding Group, Sun Block Media Labs 2.0, and JEF Holdings continue advertising illegal casinos, it will impose a penalty payment of €75,000 per week on all parties, to a maximum of €225,000.
The regulator said that for a time, Casinoscout.nl promoted only legal gambling, but in early 2025, it was acquired by a new owner. From that point on, illegal gambling was promoted via the website, the regulator said.
The KSA approached the owners, advising them that they would impose a penalty payment order if they didn’t stop the illegal activities. After receiving no response, the KSA contacted the Netherlands Internet Domain Registration Foundation (SIDN) to take the website offline. The website was temporarily offline, and the owner implemented an IP block to prevent Dutch visitors. Because advertisements for illegal content subsequently reappeared on Casinoscout.nl, the website has now been permanently taken offline.
During their investigation, inspectors from the KSA found that Casinoscout.nl also linked to besteonlinecasinonederland.com. This website, owned by the same three parties, also advertised illegal offerings.
Meanwhile, the KSA says that the Netherlands’ new ban on gambling sponsorship in sports took effect largely without any hitches after its introduction on July 1. It says that “virtually all public displays” of gambling sponsorship disappeared as ordered.
The regulator had warned that it would be focusing attention on monitoring the ban to ensure compliance, and advised that it expected operators not to circumvent the spirit of the law by seeking loopholes. It flagged up the case of the sponsorship ban in Belgium, where some clubs have replaced the logos of gambling operators with those of foundations or news portals run by the same companies.
