Dutch affiliate watchdog Keurmerk Verantwoorde Affiliates has accused Google of steering users to unlicensed gambling sites through its search autocomplete feature. The complaint concerns organic search results, not paid ads.
KVA collected data in Chrome incognito mode to rule out personalisation. Autocomplete suggested phrases such as 'online casino zonder Cruks' — casinos without registration in CRUKS, the Dutch self-exclusion system for problem gamblers — and 'beste online casino buitenland', meaning best foreign casino. KVA believes unlicensed operators and doorway sites manipulate the feature to capture traffic.
Google removes paid ads from unlicensed operators but organic results remain outside its enforcement scope. Dutch lawmakers have raised the issue repeatedly. In December 2025 CDA parliamentarian Straatman demanded immediate closure of 'casino zonder CRUKS' sites. State Secretary Arno Rutte admitted in January 2026 that measures against such domains, especially outside the .nl zone, have little effect.
Current Justice State Secretary KT van Bruggen has called the fight against illegal access an urgent priority. Last week deputies demanded stronger government pressure on Google and Meta. Van Bruggen promised half-yearly reports on unlicensed advertising on both platforms.
The problem spans Europe. Sweden's Spelinspektionen identified affiliates and social media as the main black-market channels. Germany's GGL noted the impact of updated Google Ads policy but acknowledged that unlicensed operators still rank high through SEO. UK research linked black-market migration to search promotion and doorway sites. Regulators are shifting focus from paid ads to organic search.
