AMSTERDAM, WILLEMSTAD – Nederlandse Loterij is escalating its legal campaign against unlicensed online gambling operators by appealing a Dutch court ruling concerning Curaçao-based trust office Downtown E-Commerce Company B.V. (DECC), arguing that corporate service providers should bear greater responsibility for investigating the activities of their clients.
The appeal follows a June 17 ruling by the District Court of The Hague in the case involving Lala.bet. The court found that parties behind the gambling website had unlawfully offered online gambling to Dutch consumers without a license from the Dutch Gambling Authority, Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa).
However, the court rejected claims that DECC and two of its directors had themselves acted unlawfully. It found insufficient evidence that they knew they were providing services to a company operating an illegal gambling website in the Netherlands.
Nederlandse Loterij disagrees with that conclusion and has now confirmed that it will appeal. It argues that trust offices have their own obligation to investigate their clients and understand the activities for which corporate structures are being used.
The case provides considerably more detail about DECC's role than previously known. According to the judgment, DECC established Curaçao company Casbit in July 2021, briefly served as its director and subsequently remained Casbit's local representative until April 24, 2024. Casbit operated Lala.bet until its bankruptcy at the end of 2024.
Lala.bet had obtained a Curaçao gambling license but did not have the Ksa license required to offer online gambling in the Netherlands. The Dutch court established that Dutch consumers had been able to participate through the website since late 2022.
Although the court did not hold DECC or its directors liable for facilitating the illegal Dutch gambling operation, it did order the trust office to provide Nederlandse Loterij with information about Casbit's shareholders and ultimate beneficial owners, its shareholder structure and addresses of shareholders with substantial interests during the relevant period.
That part of the ruling could have wider significance for Curaçao's online gambling industry because Nederlandse Loterij is seeking to look beyond individual websites and identify the owners, directors, trust offices and local representatives behind offshore gambling structures.
Nederlandse Loterij says its research indicates that DECC is also involved with Qbet and Skyhills, two other gambling platforms it is pursuing over their activities in the Netherlands.
Qbet is already the subject of significant Dutch regulatory action. In March, the Ksa announced a €24.846 million fine against Curaçao company Novatech Solutions N.V. after concluding that Qbet.com and 55Bet.com offered gambling to Dutch players without the required license. Novatech has filed an objection against that decision.
Nederlandse Loterij subsequently launched its own civil proceedings against the companies and directors behind Qbet. That case is expected to begin in court toward the end of 2026
The appeal involving DECC could therefore become important beyond the Lala.bet dispute. A higher court may have to examine more closely how far the duty of a Curaçao trust office extends when it establishes, administers or represents companies involved in international online gambling, and what level of knowledge is required before such an intermediary can be held liable.
For Curaçao, where corporate service providers have historically played an important role in the international gambling sector, the eventual ruling could help define where corporate administration ends and legal responsibility for a client's overseas activities begins.