Nederlandse Loterij Launches Legal Action Against Skyhills After Lalabet Court Success
TL;DR — Nederlandse Loterij is pursuing Skyhills with cease-and-desist letters in six jurisdictions after a June court win against Lalabet that ordered operations to halt and ownership disclosure. The site blocked Dutch users immediately. The operator urges swift prosecutions and opposes licensed ad bans that could expand the illegal market, which holds half the share and 95% of ads.
SCCG Take — Operator-led litigation delivers quick enforcement wins but exposes limits in intermediary liability. Regulators must accelerate practical tools to avoid pushing volume toward the 200,000-user illegal segment.
The state-controlled Dutch lottery operator Nederlandse Loterij has announced legal action against the operators of Skyhills, an offshore igaming brand. This follows a favourable court ruling against Lalabet earlier in the year, as reported by Focus Gaming News.
Nederlandse Loterij issued cease-and-desist letters to companies and individuals linked to Skyhills across multiple jurisdictions, including Curaçao, Costa Rica, Malta, North Macedonia, the UK and the Marshall Islands. The Skyhills website became inaccessible to Dutch users shortly after the letters were sent.
Arjan Blok, chief executive of Nederlandse Loterij, said: “Skyhills uses devious advertising, including on TikTok, explicitly targeting Dutch players, especially young people. Players gamble there without safeguards and face many associated risks. This is unacceptable. It is encouraging to see Skyhills go offline immediately after our initial action.”
Legal Precedent from the Lalabet Ruling
The action builds directly on a June court ruling that largely sided with Nederlandse Loterij in its case against Lalabet. Judges ruled that Lalabet’s operators and directors acted unlawfully by targeting players in the Netherlands and ordered them to stop the activity. The court also required disclosure of detailed ownership and shareholder information.
The judgment reviewed the potential liability of trust administrators and local representatives. It did not hold the Curaçao-based trust company DECC or its directors liable. Nederlandse Loterij plans to appeal this element, arguing that trust companies should conduct more rigorous client checks. The operator is reviewing DECC’s connections to both Qbet and Skyhills for possible additional steps once ownership details are clarified.
The Risk in Regulatory Timing
Nederlandse Loterij supports giving the KSA stronger powers against illegal operators but has warned that full legislative reforms could take years to take effect. Blok has called for more immediate measures, including criminal prosecutions by the Public Prosecution Service. The operator also opposes a blanket advertising ban on licensed online gambling companies, noting it could drive players toward unregulated sites.
Illegal gambling currently accounts for around half of the Dutch online gambling market and 95 per cent of online gambling advertising. An estimated 200,000 people in the Netherlands already use unauthorised platforms. While direct legal action has produced rapid results against individual sites, the unresolved questions around intermediary accountability limit broader enforcement. Dutch authorities and licensed operators must prioritise targeted measures that close these gaps before legislative changes arrive, or risk further entrenching the offshore segment.
Reporting: Focus Gaming News
Generated by SCCG’s automated editorial system from published source reporting. SCCG Management holds editorial responsibility.
Operator-led enforcement works fast, but without regulatory teeth and smarter intermediary liability, illegal volume just relocates.
We've worked in every regulated market, and this pattern repeats: litigation buys time, but doesn't solve structure. The illegal segment in the Netherlands commands half the market and 95% of ad spend. Until regulators accelerate practical enforcement tools and clarify intermediary liability, licensed operators will keep playing whack-a-mole while unlicensed brands replatform overnight.
- Nederlandse Loterij sent cease-and-desist letters to Skyhills operators in six jurisdictions; site blocked Dutch users immediately
- June court win vs. Lalabet ordered ops halt and ownership disclosure but did not hold Curaçao trust administrators liable
- Operator warns licensed ad bans risk expanding the illegal market, which holds 50% share and 95% of advertising
SCCG angle: SCCG helps licensed operators and regulators close these gaps. We broker compliance partnerships across payment, media, and trust infrastructure in Curaçao, Malta, and beyond — the exact chokepoints where enforcement actually works. Our network includes the intermediaries who can say no before a brand goes live, not after litigation.
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