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While acknowledging Google’s cooperation in removing paid advertisements promoting illegal casinos, the KVA emphasised the need for the company to take more comprehensive measures addressing organic search results.
Dutch MPs have raised similar concerns before. In December 2025, CDA MP Straatman asked the state secretary whether websites advertising as “Beste casino’s zonder Cruks” should be taken offline immediately.
In a written response published in January 2026, Arno Rutte, the state secretary at the time acknowledged that enforcement against such sites remained limited, particularly for domains not registered under the .nl extension.
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It had sent over 217,000 marketing emails and SMS messages within a 16-day window to customers who had explicitly unsubscribed. ACMA regarded the volume and timing of these messages as significant enough to warrant enforcement action.
In response to the penalties, Dabble Sports has agreed to a two-year court-enforceable undertaking. It has obliged the company to commission an independent review of its compliance systems. Dabble must develop a board-approved plan to implement these changes with appropriate resources.
An ACMA spokesperson reiterated: “BetStop is an important consumer protection measure, but it only works if wagering companies follow the rules.”
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Cash, e-wallets, mobile money and virtual assets emerge as the payment methods most vulnerable to abuse. This is particularly true where operators use them to structure deposits below reporting thresholds.
Giles Thomson, FATF president, said unregulated sectors risk becoming “attractive gateways for fraudsters, professional money launderers and organised criminal networks”. He called on governments to strengthen oversight, crack down on illegal and offshore operators and deepen public-private cooperation.
The Danish Gambling Authority said on Friday that the report stems from a broader review by FATF member countries over the past year.
