Nederlandse Loterij (Dutch Lottery), the biggest operator in the Netherlands, is seeking legal action against gambling multinational Skyhills over targeting the Dutch market without a licence.
The former has issued Skyhills a number of summons, which under the Dutch legal system means that persons and companies linked to an entity are notified that they are required to appear before a court or face legal claims.
In doing so, the Dutch Lottery has said that it aims to unveil who is behind the website, alleging that it is an international chain of offshore individuals and businesses that span across Costa Rica, Curaçao, the UK, North Macedonia, Malta, and the Marshall Islands.
According to the operator, since being granted the summons, Skyhills has ceased all operations in the Netherlands.
Arjan Blok, Chief Executive Officer of the Dutch Lottery, said: “Gamer protection is paramount at Nederlandse Loterij. We want players to be able to participate in our games of chance in a safe and responsible way. Skyhills focuses on Dutch players and especially young people with sly advertising, including TikTok, especially on Dutch players.
“They can gamble there completely unprotected, with all the risks that entails. That is unacceptable. That’s why it’s good to see that after our first step, Skyhills’ site immediately went black.”
Towards the end of last year, local media outlet EenVandaag contacted the Dutch gambling authority, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), about Skyhills in particular.
This led to the regulator revealing that the gambling firm went from earning around €600,000 in April 2025 to €4.5m by November the same year – all generated illegally by targeting the Dutch market.
KSA in need of more powers
While the biggest responsibility to ensure licensed gambling in the Netherlands remains protected falls on KSA’s shoulders, it seems as if there is a widely agreed belief that the regulator is currently in need of expanded powers – especially when only 2.5% of the issued gambling breach penalties were actually paid since the market re-regulated in 2021.
Just this week, the Dutch trade body for online gambling (VNLOK) released a statement addressing the government, calling for urgent measures to significantly widen the KSA’s regulatory remit – suggesting new tools like direct IP blocking powers and categorising illegal gambling as organised crime.
The Dutch Lottery appears to be holding the same view, with the caveat that it is pursuing its own action against the black market to cover the gaps where the KSA’s oversight ends.
“Banks, payment providers and hosting services also have a responsibility for this”, Blok added, echoing VNLOK’s position that the gambling regulator needs to be allowed to intervene more directly in the financial sector, which essentially facilitates the transactions to offshore operators.
The collective calls to expand regulatory oversight appear days before a debate scheduled to take place at the House of Representatives, which will look at the current gambling marketing laws in the Netherlands.
Since a complete advertising ban is not fully off the agenda, the licensed gambling sector has ensured that policymakers are reminded about the unintended consequences of limiting the visibility of the legal offer – especially when at least 25% of Dutch players are migrating to the black market.
Add the fact that the latest tax policies forcefully halted the growth of the online licensed market after four years of continuous expansion, and the black market becomes more than a mere Dutch boogeyman.
Legal crusade continues
The Dutch Lottery has remained consistent in aiding the fight against illegal operators, with Skyhills representing the third company that it has taken legal action against – with the two others being Qbet and Lalabet.
While the lawsuit against Qubet is scheduled to start at the end of 2026, the one against Lalabet has already seen a final verdict issued earlier in June.
The court sided with the Dutch Lottery and upheld the view that Lalabet has acted illegally, forcing the company to reveal crucial insights into its business structure, owners, and shareholders.
However, the court concluded that not enough evidence was present to seek liability with the directors of trust office DECC – a corporate service provider based in Curaçao – and that the office did not know about Lalabet’s illegal activity.
Because of that, the Dutch Lottery is now appealing the decision.