KSA Teams up with Cloudflare to Combat Illegal Gambling

The Dutch gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), announced it signed a new agreement with the global provider of cloud services, Cloudflare. The new collaboration was confirmed Thursday by the gambling watchdog. Joining forces with Cloudflare, KSA said that it will continue the battle against illegal online gambling websites offering their services to Dutch customers.

Per the agreement, Cloudflare will assist the KSA by providing information upon request. This information will be used by the gambling regulator for investigations against illegal gambling providers. The latest agreement complements the wide range of tools used by KSA to combat illegal offerings and is likely going to be an important part of its upcoming investigations.

Besides monitoring and regulating the legal gambling sector, the Dutch gambling regulator is also tasked with combating the illegal market. Currently, the Netherlands has strict rules when it comes to online gambling and the KSA ensures that only licensed operators offer their services to customers in the country.

“The agreements made mean that the KSA can actively question Cloudflare in its investigations to provide more information about the hosting parties behind illegal gambling providers. The information provided by Cloudflare can therefore be useful for the KSA’s investigations, with the aim of putting an end to the illegal supply,“

reads a statement released by the KSA

The Gambling Watchdog Continues to Monitor the Market

Upon announcing the partnership, the KSA reiterated that illegal affiliates and gambling suppliers go above and beyond to avoid restrictions and sanctions. Moreover, it said that those efforts represent one of the major challenges in the fight against illegal gambling.

The Dutch gambling watchdog reminded the consumers that their personal information and funds are at risk if they use the services of illegal operators, adding that the gambling laws in the country prohibit the offering of gambling services without a license.

The partnership with Cloudflare came after earlier this year, the KSA asked the company to discontinue its support for two companies. This request came during an investigation of nederlandscasinos.net and onlinecasinosspelen.com. Subsequently, the KSA understood that Cloudflare could not discontinue its services and withdrew the binding instructions.

Earlier this week, figures released by the KSA revealed that the growth of iGaming gross gaming revenue is slowing down. Upon announcing the results, the regulator said that the total GGR last year hit EUR 1.39 billion ($1.51 billion), marking a slight increase when compared to the EUR 1.08 billion ($1.17 billion) result for 2022.

In addition, the KSA released information about the channelization rate in the country. This data revealed that 90% of the Dutch players currently use the services of licensed gambling operators. Undoubtedly, this figure reaffirmed the dedication and ongoing focus of the Dutch gambling regulator.