Curaçao Chronicle | Skyhills Becomes Third Gambling Platform Targeted as Dutch Campaign Reaches Deeper Into Curaçao

AMSTERDAM, WILLEMSTAD – Nederlandse Loterij has opened a new front in its campaign against unlicensed online gambling by targeting Skyhills, making it the third gambling platform after Lalabet and Qbet to face legal action from the Dutch lottery operator and again placing Curaçao-linked corporate structures under scrutiny.

Nederlandse Loterij announced on September 1 that it had formally demanded that Skyhills’ operators and directors stop their activities in the Netherlands and had held them liable. It is also demanding information about the corporate structure behind the platform. Since the demand was issued, Skyhills has become inaccessible from the Netherlands, according to Nederlandse Loterij.

The companies and individuals connected to Skyhills are spread across several jurisdictions, including Curaçao, Costa Rica, North Macedonia, the United Kingdom, Malta and the Marshall Islands. Nederlandse Loterij wants to determine who ultimately controls the operation before deciding what additional legal steps to take.

The strategy marks a shift away from simply trying to block individual gambling websites. Nederlandse Loterij is increasingly pursuing the companies, directors, shareholders, trust offices and other service providers that it says make offshore gambling operations possible.

Its first major test came with Lalabet. In June, the District Court of The Hague ruled that operators behind Lala.bet had unlawfully competed with TOTO, Nederlandse Loterij’s licensed online gambling operation, by offering gambling to Dutch players without the required Dutch license. The court also ordered disclosure of information that could help identify parties behind the business.

Qbet represents the second major case. Its operator, Curaçao-based Novatech Solutions N.V., had already attracted the attention of the Dutch gambling regulator before Nederlandse Loterij began its civil proceedings.

The Ksa initially ordered Novatech in 2024 to stop offering unlicensed gambling through Qbet and 55Bet. Dutch investigators had established that users with Dutch information could register, deposit money and gamble through the sites.

The regulator subsequently imposed a €24.846 million fine on Novatech, announced in March 2026. The company has challenged that decision through the administrative objection procedure.

The latest Skyhills action shows that Nederlandse Loterij intends to continue pursuing offshore networks rather than treating each gambling website as an isolated operation.

CEO Arjan Blok said illegal gambling websites should be tackled collectively and argued that banks, payment providers and hosting companies also have responsibilities in combating unlicensed gambling. Nederlandse Loterij says around 200,000 Dutch residents currently gamble through illegal providers.

Curaçao is particularly relevant to the emerging legal strategy because companies and corporate service providers on the island appear in several of the cases.

Nederlandse Loterij specifically says DECC, the Curaçao trust office involved in the Lalabet litigation, is also connected to Qbet and Skyhills. That claim will now form part of the broader dispute as Nederlandse Loterij appeals the portion of the Lalabet judgment that cleared DECC and its directors of unlawful conduct.

The litigation could ultimately have consequences extending beyond the three gambling sites. Dutch courts may increasingly be asked to determine when offshore company directors, local representatives and trust offices can be held responsible when businesses structured in Curaçao offer gambling in foreign markets without the licenses required in those jurisdictions.

That question has become particularly significant as Curaçao implements a new regulatory framework for its international online gambling industry while foreign regulators and licensed operators intensify efforts to pursue unlicensed cross-border gambling.