Kansspelautoriteit Targets CasinoScout.nl Owners with Conditional Fines Over Illegal Gambling Ads

The Dutch gambling authority, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has taken formal enforcement action against three companies—SBM Holding Group, Sun Block Media Labs 2.0, and JEF Holdings—for their continued involvement in promoting unlicensed gambling operators through the website CasinoScout.nl. The regulatory body has imposed conditional fines of €75,000 ($87,685) per week for each company involved, following repeated violations and non-compliance with prior warnings.

CasinoScout.nl had previously limited its promotional content to legally licensed gambling operators. However, following a change in ownership structure, the website resumed advertising for unlicensed gambling providers—a move that placed it in breach of Dutch regulations. Despite receiving official warnings from the KSA, the companies failed to respond, prompting the regulator to take further action.

In an effort to bring the website offline, the KSA initiated steps to remove the domain. While the site was temporarily inaccessible, it later resurfaced using IP-based blocking to prevent access by Dutch users. However, upon further investigation, the regulator found that CasinoScout.nl continued to market illegal gambling services in violation of national laws.

KSA officials also discovered that the operators were behind an affiliated site, besteonlinecasinonederland.com, which similarly promoted unlicensed gambling offers. Both websites were found to be under the control of the same trio of companies—SBM Holding Group, Sun Block Media Labs 2.0, and JEF Holdings.

As a result of these findings, the conditional penalty payments now apply to all associated platforms operated by these entities. The KSA has reaffirmed its commitment to strict enforcement and has recently voiced satisfaction with the results of its ban on sports sponsorships by gambling firms, as well as the impact of improved player protection measures introduced in recent months.

The regulator's action against CasinoScout.nl and its affiliated entities signals a continued crackdown on unlicensed gambling advertising and a broader push to strengthen regulatory oversight within the Dutch gaming sector.

By fLEXI tEAM