Dutch regulator hits Novatech with record €24.8m penalty
Table of contents
- The Kansspelautoriteit fines Novatech €24,846,000 and Fortaprime SRL €1,795,000 for offering illegal online gambling to Dutch players.
- Neither operator held a KSA licence or implemented technical measures to block access from the Netherlands.
- KSA chairman says fines would have exceeded €100 million without the legal cap of 10% of worldwide revenue.
The Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has issued its largest-ever fine against an illegal gambling operator, penalising Novatech a total of €24,846,000 for offering unlicensed online casino services to Dutch players.
A second operator, Fortaprime SRL, received a fine of €1,795,000 as part of the same enforcement action, announced on 10 March 2026.
Repeat offenders targeted
Both companies had previously received administrative orders to cease their illegal operations in the Netherlands. Despite those earlier warnings, KSA investigators were able to create player accounts, deposit funds, and place bets on sites operated by both companies.
Novatech ran its illegal offering through Qbet.com and 55Bet.com. Fortaprime operated a wider network of eight websites, including amonbet101.com, supraplay.com, kaasino.com, and luckymax7.com.
Neither company had put technical measures in place to prevent Dutch players from accessing its platforms. The KSA identified multiple aggravating factors across both operations.
These included the absence of visible age verification checks, as well as the acceptance of cryptocurrency and anonymous payment methods, which the regulator said facilitated money laundering.
Fines capped by law
The KSA calculated fines based on estimated revenue generated from Dutch players. Under Dutch law, administrative penalties for unlicensed gambling are capped at 10% of an operator’s worldwide revenue.
Michel Groothuizen, chairman of the KSA, said:
“Novatech earned hundreds of millions from its illegal offerings, primarily from Dutch players. A fine of 24 million euros sounds impressive, but without the 10 percent cap on global revenue set by Dutch law, the penalty would have exceeded 100 million euros — a figure more in line with the severity of the violations.”
The Novatech penalty eclipses the previous Dutch record of nearly €20 million, imposed on Gammix in 2024 for operating rantcasino.com and betoriginal.com without a licence.
Enforcement broadens
The KSA noted that its fight against unlicensed operators extends beyond direct fines. The regulator works closely with payment service providers, hosting companies, banks, and major technology firms to disrupt illegal gambling offerings at multiple points in the supply chain.
In a notable addition to this case, the KSA confirmed that Dutch influencers had been used to promote Fortaprime’s websites. The regulator warned that individuals who advertise illegal gambling operators may also face sanctions.
The action comes as the Netherlands enters a critical phase for its regulated online gambling market. The first batch of remote gambling licences, granted in October 2021, began expiring this year.
Current licence holders must now reapply under updated Remote Gambling Policy Rules 2026, which tighten standards on player protection and advertising.
With an increased gambling tax rate of 37.8% on GGR taking effect from 1 January 2026, the commercial pressure on licensed operators has intensified.
The KSA’s willingness to pursue record penalties against offshore competitors sends a clear signal that the regulator intends to protect the channelisation model underpinning the Dutch market.
The Dutch regulator also penalised influencers promoting illegal gambling earlier this year, part of a wider crackdown that has also targeted prediction market platform Polymarket.
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