The Dutch gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa), says 26 misleading .co.nl websites were recently removed. Almost all copied licensed operators' websites, according to its announcement published on 7 October 2026. Imitation pages redirected visitors to illegal gambling sites.
For an adult player in the Netherlands, the immediate check is the website or app itself. Ksa's player guidance directs people to the official Kansspelwijzer before gambling. A familiar page layout does not resolve which address you have opened.
What Ksa reported
The copied addresses used .co.nl in place of .nl. Ksa said the independent CO.NL operator cooperated with its requests: the sites were offline within a maximum of 48 hours after the regulator notified it. That period was a reported response time, not a new legal deadline or a countdown from the announcement date.
The statement also reports 86 websites referred to CO.NL and subsequently removed during the investigation, which identified other illegal gambling sites. It does not explain how those 86 overlap with the recent 26. Adding the figures would create an unsupported total; describing all 86 as cloned websites would also go beyond the announcement.
The regulator did not publish an affected-operator list or quantify player losses and refunds in this report.
How to check the address you opened
The official Kansspelwijzer page identifies providers permitted to offer gambling in the Netherlands. Its search accepts a company, licence holder, website or app name. Category filters distinguish online games from other gambling activities.
Use the checker from the regulator's own website, rather than follow a licence badge on a page whose identity you are trying to establish:
- Read the address in your browser and note the website or app you intend to use. Pay attention to the ending of the address.
- Open Kansspelwijzer through the official Ksa page and search for that website, app, company or licence holder.
- Read the result and its listed website or app details. Compare them with what you opened; a matching brand name alone does not settle an address mismatch.
- If you cannot establish the match, pause before sending money or identity documents. Clarify the site and its permission first.
These are verification steps, not a recommendation to use any operator. BetTimes' licence-verification guide explains the wider distinction between a brand, a licence holder and the evidence for a particular website.
What a licence check can establish
Kansspelwijzer addresses Dutch permission. An entry is not a worldwide gambling licence, and checking a listing does not guarantee a particular withdrawal or the outcome of a complaint. Our Netherlands KOA licence explainer covers the jurisdiction's framework separately.
Ksa described misuse of an extension offered for Dutch businesses. The .co.nl ending by itself is not proof that every website using it is fraudulent. The useful response to this warning is to verify the actual website or app, its listed permission and the address you are using.