ACVZ.org: A former government site has been reclaimed to promote illegal gambling
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25 Jul 2025 •
Reading time: 2 minutes What was once a pillar of government communication in the Netherlands has now become a showcase for online casinos operating completely illegally. The ACVZ.org domain, formerly attached to the Adviescommissie voor Vreemdelingenzaken, has been taken over by anonymous players who are now using it to list unregulated gambling platforms, often hosted outside Europe.
From a report on immigration to the promotion of gambling without limits
ACVZ.org. For those in the know, the name evokes a serious institution: the Adviescommissie voor Vreemdelingenzaken (now Advisieraad Migratie), a leading Dutch advisory body on migration, integration and asylum. For years, this site was a pillar of public information on migration policy.
But now, in 2025, the field has nothing to do with its noble origins. Those who venture there discover a completely different world: online casinos, no-limit gambling, foreign betting platforms… In just a few months, ACVZ.org has become a site promoting unregulated illegal gambling.
A prestigious name shamelessly hijacked
Frank Kruit, SEO expert and campaigner against the digital pollution of gambling-related search results, was the first to alert us to this manipulation on his LinkedIn profile.
It all began in 2024, when the real ACVZ migrated to a new domain. As is often the case in this type of transition, the old domain name was left vacant. Unfortunately, this type of error is common: migrating official sites is complex, and few organisations anticipate the consequences of abandoning a domain.
An anonymous buyer took over almost immediately. Less than a year later, the site was reactivated. But no longer as a space for analysing migration policies: ACVZ.org is now an illegitimate showcase for unregulated casinos, often hosted in Curaçao, Malta or other jurisdictions with flexible legislation.
And the domain’s former prestige has given it instant algorithmic legitimacy. A textbook case of SEO hijacking.
As a result, the site now ranks at the top of the results for queries such as ‘casino without Cruks’, ‘play without limits’ and ‘foreign casinos’. These are very popular expressions in the Netherlands for those seeking to circumvent national gambling regulations
A wider phenomenon, a systemic flaw
The ACVZ case is not isolated. More and more old domains, particularly those of public or academic institutions, are being bought up or taken over after expiry, then transformed into portals for gambling, crypto-currencies, bogus financial advice or other high-return… and highly dangerous sectors.
It’s high time the authorities got to grips with the problem. The resale of old domains should be strictly regulated, especially when they have an institutional past. Some are already calling for national registers of sensitive domains to be set up, to prevent them being bought up by dubious players.