Dutch Lottery Targets Skyhills With Lawsuit in Crackdown on Illegal Gambling Sites

Nederlandse Loterij has taken legal action against Skyhills, an unlicensed gambling platform accused of targeting Dutch players.

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The organization announced today that it has summoned the operators and directors behind the site, demanding that they stop offering services in the Netherlands and provide details about their company structure.

Those linked to Skyhills are based across several jurisdictions, including Costa Rica, North Macedonia, the United Kingdom, Curaçao, Malta, and the Marshall Islands. As at the time of the announcement, Skyhills was no longer accessible to users in the Netherlands.

Arjan Blok, CEO of Nederlandse Loterij, stressed the importance of protecting players. “Player protection is paramount at Nederlandse Loterij. We want players to be able to participate in our games of chance in a safe and responsible manner.”

“Skyhills focuses with devious advertising, including on TikTok, explicitly on Dutch players and especially on young people. 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, the Skyhills site immediately went black.”

Skyhills adds to growing list of unlicensed operators facing legal action

Skyhills has become the third illegal gambling site to face legal proceedings from Nederlandse Loterij in the last year. 

The organization previously filed lawsuits against Lalabet and Qbet, with the case against Qbet expected to begin at the end of 2026. 

In June, the court delivered a ruling in the Lalabet case that largely favored Nederlandse Loterij. Judges found that the operators and directors of Lalabet had acted unlawfully, were liable, and must stop targeting Dutch players. 

They were also ordered to provide details about the company’s structure, including information on shareholders and ownership, with the court further ruling that trust directors and local representatives who help facilitate illegal gambling sites can also be held liable. 

However, it did not establish that the Curaçao trust office DECC and its directors acted unlawfully, saying there was not enough proof that they knew they were providing services to an operator running an illegal site in the Netherlands.

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Nederlandse Loterij has stated it will appeal, arguing that trust offices have a duty to investigate their clients and pointing to research showing DECC’s involvement with both Qbet and Skyhills. 

Big week ahead for Netherland gambling market

The Dutch House of Representatives will debate games of chance on Thursday, with the gambling market set to take center stage. 

Ahead of the session, Nederlandse Loterij has voiced support for many of the proposals put forward by the State Secretary for Justice and Security, particularly the plan to give the Gaming Authority more powers to act against illegal operators. 

At the same time, the lottery stressed that waiting for changes in legislation is not enough. “But a change in the law takes years. That is why the government must now do more to tackle illegal gambling sites, for example through criminal prosecution by the Public Prosecution Service,” said Blok.

He added that banks, payment providers, and hosting services also share responsibility in fighting platforms where players remain unprotected. 

The debate will also touch on advertising rules. Nederlandse Loterij has warned against a full ban on advertising for legal online providers, arguing that restrictions are already strict and further limits would push more players toward illegal sites. 

According to the organization, half of the gambling market in the Netherlands is controlled by unlicensed operators, who are behind 95% of gambling advertisements and often present themselves as legal businesses. 

With around 200,000 Dutch people already gambling illegally, the lottery says that cutting off advertising for licensed providers would only strengthen the reach of illegal platforms.

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