Nederlandse Loterij has taken unlicensed operator Skyhills to court, accusing the company of illegal activity in the Dutch market.
Skyhills is operated by Curaçao-registered Skyhills N.V. and does not hold a Dutch licence. The operator allowed Dutch consumers to register and place bets on its platform. The lottery is seeking an injunction to stop Skyhills from offering gambling services in the country, claiming the activity is illegal and damages licensed business.
Nederlandse Loterij CEO Arjan Blok said Skyhills ran aggressive advertising on TikTok, deliberately targeting young Dutch audiences. 'They can gamble there completely unprotected, with all the associated risks. That is unacceptable,' Blok said. The Skyhills website was taken offline after the lawsuit was filed.
Skyhills is the third operator the lottery has sued. In April, Nederlandse Loterij filed against Qbet, a company already fined a record €24.8m by regulator KSA for operating without a licence. Last March, the lottery sued Costa Rica-based Lalabet. The court ruled in the lottery's favour and ordered Lalabet to cease operations in the Netherlands.
Ahead of parliamentary gambling debates scheduled for 3 September, the lottery called for stronger enforcement against unlicensed operators. Blok backed expanded powers for the KSA but warned legislative changes would take years. He proposed criminal prosecution and holding banks, payment providers and hosting services accountable.
The lottery opposed a total advertising ban for licensed operators, arguing it would benefit the black market. According to Nederlandse Loterij, unlicensed operators control half the Dutch gambling market and generate 95% of advertising traffic. Around 200,000 Dutch consumers already gamble on illegal sites.
