Kansspelautoriteit haalt 86 misleidende goksites met .co.nl-domeinen offline

De Kansspelautoriteit heeft aangekondigd dat 86 misleidende of gekloonde goksites met .co.nl-domeinnamen succesvol zijn verwijderd, waarbij de meeste sites bezoekers doorstuurden naar illegale gokaanbiedingen; de actie begon met een eerste batch van 26 sites en breidde zich uit na vervolgcontroles tot het totale aantal van 86.

Details van de eerste verwijderingsronde

Nearly all sites in that initial group of 26 imitated the websites of licensed operators and redirected traffic to illegal gambling platforms, while the registrar for .co.nl domains responded within 48 hours to the initial requests from the authority; follow-up checks then identified additional cloned sites that brought the total to 86.

Snelle actie door de domeinregistrar

The .co.nl registrar processed the takedown requests rapidly, and this cooperation allowed the authority to address the misleading domains before they could attract more visitors, with the entire process for the first batch completed inside two days according to the official announcement.

Breder internationaal netwerk in kaart gebracht

Separate research conducted by OnlineCasino.Amsterdam uncovered a larger network of 225 technically linked domains that targeted players in 21 different countries and markets including Canada, Switzerland and Malaysia, many of which used similar cloning tactics with recognizable casino brand names to funnel traffic toward illegal sites; these domains shared technical infrastructure that connected them across borders.

Observers note that the cloning method often involved copying the look and feel of established licensed operators so that users searching for familiar brands would land on the fake pages instead, and the research mapped how these sites operated together to reach audiences far beyond the Netherlands.

Betrokkenheid van de Kansspelautoriteit

The authority coordinated directly with the .co.nl registrar to secure the removals, and data from the operation shows that nearly every site in the first batch redirected users to unlicensed gambling offerings while the expanded total of 86 reflects additional detections made during subsequent reviews.

Those who examined the cases found that the cloned sites frequently appeared in search results for popular casino names, which allowed the misleading pages to capture traffic intended for regulated platforms before the domains were taken down.

Technische verbanden en internationale reikwijdte

Research indicates the 225 domains formed part of an interconnected system that extended across multiple jurisdictions, with many sites employing the same redirection techniques to guide visitors away from legal options and toward unregulated gambling services in the listed countries.

Figures reveal that the network relied on shared hosting and registration patterns that made the connections identifiable, and the study documented how brand-name imitation served as a consistent tactic to build trust with users in different markets.

Gevolgen voor de Nederlandse gokmarkt

The removals demonstrate how the authority continues to monitor and act against unauthorized online gambling activities that use Dutch domain extensions, while the international findings highlight the need for cross-border cooperation when similar cloning operations appear in other regions.

Experts have observed that quick registrar involvement, such as the 48-hour response time seen here, plays a key role in limiting the lifespan of these deceptive sites and protecting users who might otherwise encounter illegal offerings.

Samenvatting van de maatregelen

The combined efforts resulted in the successful removal of all 86 identified .co.nl domains, and the linked research provided additional context on how such networks operate beyond a single country; the authority continues to track similar patterns to prevent further instances of cloned gambling sites from appearing under Dutch domain addresses.