A court in Limburg has ruled that the immediate dismissal of a Casino Peppermill branch manager was lawful.
A minority coalition government in the Netherlands has made the fight against the risks associated with gambling a central priority of its programme. In a 67-page document published at the end of January, the executive announced a series of radical measures, including a general ban on all gambling advertising and possible restrictions on the number of licences granted to online operators.
It started with small wins. Then everything went faster. Gambling a little every day and thinking you’re being smart. Until you lose everything.
A study published in January 2026 by the Keurmerk Verantwoorde Affiliates (KVA) analyses the online search behaviour surrounding the expression ‘no-limit casino’.
As the Dutch government prepares to present a periodic report covering the policies applied between 2019 and 2025, parliamentary officials are asking: are we in a position to judge the effectiveness of these policies if the main indicators of gambling-related harm have not yet been defined?
For several weeks now, viral videos on TikTok have featured the SkyHills logo or name. Beyond the visual strangeness, what are the consequences of this advertising that promotes an illegal service?
They seem like harmless platforms for gamers. But behind the scenes, illegal gambling links are increasingly popping up. The world of gambling affiliates is dark and cunning. They buy sites to fill them with illegal gambling offers.
On 22 January 2026, the Ksa issued a binding injunction against Hillside, the operator of Bet365, for serious shortcomings in its duty of care towards players. Charging the operator with poor financial controls, the regulator is demanding compliance within four weeks, a decision that Bet365 rejects outright, promising to take the matter to court.
For several years now, the fight against illegal online gambling has been gaining momentum on the agenda of European regulators. In the Netherlands, the idea of a kind of ‘Gambling Interpol’ has recently been put forward. However, expert Rik Wanrooij believes that this approach risks obscuring the essential issue.
The Kansspelautoriteit in the Netherlands is taking a hard line. In 2026, the regulator is setting its sights on illegal gambling providers and the protection of young people.
A misleading video is currently circulating on social media. Thanks to artificial intelligence, the image and voice of YouTuber Kalvijn have been misused to promote an illegal online casino.
At the Annual Gaming Industry Event in Amsterdam on 16 January 2026, Michel Groothuizen, chairman of the Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa), gave a speechin which he presented the Dutch regulator’s new roadmap for the coming year.
In the world of offshore casinos, dodging fines is child’s play. By using volatile legal structures that they liquidate at the slightest sanction, they make recovery impossible and continue their activities with impunity.
The legal gambling market is under pressure, while the illegal one is growing. Dutch State Secretary Arno Rutte is worried. Heavy gamblers, in particular, are seeking refuge outside the licensed offer.
Esmee Ipema, a well-known personality among Dutch television viewers, is using her fame to promote gambling platforms that operate outside the legal framework.
No age verification, no license, but betting with autoplay was fully available. For thousands of Dutch people, it was child’s play to gamble on banned sites. Now, the foreign gambling company Starscream Limited is being presented with the bill: a fine of over 4.2 million euros.
They lost thousands of euros in just a few clicks. Young adults were given free rein to keep gambling at ComeOn casino. The Kansspelautoriteit is now intervening and imposing a fine of 750,000 euros.
