The Dutch gaming authority (KSA) announced on Friday that it has revoked a lottery licence that was fraudulently obtained in the name of Quick Boys, an amateur football club. An unidentified individual managed to impersonate the club's chairman during the application process, securing authorization to run a lottery. This fraudulent licence facilitated the creation of multiple websites offering lottery tickets.
The KSA clarified that Quick Boys had no involvement in the application for the licence and is considered a victim of identity fraud.
In light of the fraud, the KSA issued a consumer alert, urging the public not to provide personal or financial information on the fraudulent websites. Those who may have purchased tickets were advised to contact their banks, report the incident to the police, and inform both the national fraud helpdesk and the KSA to aid in evaluating the extent of the scam.
The KSA confirmed it has filed its own police report and refrained from further comments pending ongoing investigations.
The regulator also mentioned a concerning increase in incidents where individuals use false information to obtain licences, misusing their legitimacy to illegally solicit consumer funds. While KSA has successfully prevented similar fraud in one instance due to their enhanced verification processes, they refrained from naming the specific operator involved.
In response to the situation with Quick Boys, the KSA has promptly strengthened its identity verification protocols and increased scrutiny of the domain names mentioned in its public Gambling Guide (Kansspelwijzer).
Ella Seijsener, KSA’s director of licensing, emphasized the critical need for consumer trust in licensed operations and acknowledged the gravity of this breach. "We take the fact that a scammer managed to mislead our application process very seriously," she stated.
Additionally, the KSA has updated its guidance regarding statutory means testing for online gambling players. This update follows inspections that unearthed persistent issues despite overall sector improvements. The means test aims to ensure players do not gamble beyond their financial means and is a key aspect of the KSA's "duty of care" framework introduced in 2024.
