Nederlandse Loterij, the operator of the Dutch national lottery, has stated that it will take Qbet and its operator Novatech to court over illegal gambling.
In a statement, the licensed gambling operator accused Qbet of being “the largest illegal gambling site” currently on the Dutch market, threatening legal action as it pursues to prosecute all entities connected to it.
The company behind Qbet, Novatech, is licensed in Curaçao, and is also well-known to the Dutch gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA). Just weeks ago, the gambling authority issued a record €25m (£22m) fine against the black market operator.
It is yet to see whether this will bear any fruits, however, as a common practice with these offshore companies is to surrender their licence to evade the penalties. In this instance, things could be a bit more complicated, as Curaçao is part of the Dutch Crown and its legal system is largely intertwined with that of the Netherlands.
This will be the second lawsuit of such scale that the Nederlandse Loterij has launched, with another one filed back in 2025 against Lalabet – again relating to offering unlicensed gambling. Hearings began this week at The Hague.
Arjan Blok, Chief Executive Officer at Nederlandse Loterij, commented: “Players can still easily go to illegal gambling sites, without age check and game limits and with irresponsible bonuses and misleading payment methods.
“Meanwhile, 200,000 Dutch people are gambling illegally. It is precisely these players who run the greatest risks, because they play more often and with more money on illegal sites.
“That is why Nederlandse Loterij takes responsibility and we are taking the largest illegal gambling site to court. Not only the direct offender, but also everyone behind it who facilitates this site. With the aim of blacking and keeping illegal gambling sites black.”