Nederlandse Loterij has stepped up its campaign against unlicensed gambling operators after legal pressure led Skyhills to become inaccessible to players in the Netherlands.
The state-backed gambling group said it had issued formal demands to the companies and directors behind Skyhills, ordering them to stop targeting Dutch consumers. Nederlandse Loterij is also seeking information about the platform’s corporate structure and has held the parties involved liable as it considers further legal action.
The people and companies linked to Skyhills are based across several jurisdictions, including Costa Rica, North Macedonia, the UK, Curaçao, Malta and the Marshall Islands. Following the action, Nederlandse Loterij confirmed that the gambling site was no longer accessible from the Netherlands.
Nederlandse Loterij says Skyhills had actively sought Dutch customers, including through advertising on TikTok that reached younger audiences. The operator argues that customers using offshore gambling websites do not receive the safeguards imposed on licensed Dutch companies, such as age checks, spending controls and responsible gambling requirements.
Skyhills is the third unlicensed gambling business targeted through legal action by Nederlandse Loterij, following Lalabet and Qbet.
Lalabet ruling strengthens legal strategy
The latest action follows a June judgment by the District Court of The Hague in Nederlandse Loterij’s case against Lalabet.
The court found that the businesses and directors operating Lalabet had acted unlawfully by offering gambling services aimed at Dutch players. They were ordered to stop those activities and disclose information about Lalabet’s corporate structure, shareholders and owners.
Nederlandse Loterij believes obtaining that information could help identify other operators, directors and corporate service providers involved in supporting illegal gambling networks.
The ruling also established that trust administrators and local representatives facilitating illegal gambling businesses could potentially be held liable. However, the court did not find Curaçao-based trust company DECC and two of its directors responsible in the Lalabet case because there was insufficient evidence that they knew they were providing services to a company operating illegally in the Netherlands.
Nederlandse Loterij disagrees with that part of the ruling and is appealing, arguing that trust companies have a responsibility to investigate their clients and their business activities. The company has also linked the same trust firm to Qbet and Skyhills. Its separate proceedings against Qbet are expected to begin later in 2026.
Illegal market remains a growing concern
The enforcement push comes as Dutch authorities continue to confront the increasing financial scale of offshore gambling.
The Ksa said in April that licensed operators accounted for about 53% of Dutch online gambling gross gaming revenue during the second half of 2025, meaning almost half of gambling expenditure was flowing to the illegal market. At the same time, the regulator estimates that the large majority of individual Dutch players still use licensed operators.
Nederlandse Loterij has also warned against proposals for a complete advertising ban on licensed online gambling companies. It argues that restricting the visibility of legal operators could make it harder for consumers to distinguish regulated brands from offshore alternatives. The company estimates that around 200,000 people in the Netherlands already gamble illegally.
Concerns over illegal promotion are supported by research from Dutch industry group VNLOK. Its latest analysis found that between 94% and 97% of gambling advertisements reaching Dutch users on Facebook and Instagram were linked to operators without a Dutch licence. VNLOK has started legal proceedings against Meta and filed a complaint with the European Commission over the issue.
Nederlandse Loterij is pushing for a broader enforcement response involving not only regulators and licensed gambling companies but also banks, payment providers, hosting businesses and other organisations that provide infrastructure used by offshore operators.