Illegal casinos hijack thousands of Dutch websites

At least 1,000 Dutch and European websites have been transformed into fronts for illegal online casinos, according to an investigation by Dutch radio station BNR. The true number could be as high as 8,000. These sites belong to companies, charities, and freelancers who were unaware their domains were hijacked. Criminals either infiltrate websites or purchase expired domain names and flood them with gambling content.

Search engines trust these addresses, so the illegal casinos rank highly and appear reputable to users. A search for an online casino may lead someone to a seemingly legitimate site before being redirected to an illicit operator.

The national gambling authority has labeled this situation as "a very big problem" and is collaborating with SIDN, the organization responsible for managing Dutch internet domains, to remove redirect pages. However, the process is slow due to the lack of legal authority to block the sites. SIDN can only address Dutch domains, not .com or .eu domains, which are outside their jurisdiction, so they are relying on Google to take action.

The search engine removes ads for illegal casinos but does not remove the sites or redirect pages themselves.

The Dutch cabinet announced in June that it is developing new tools to combat illegal gambling, including the power to block websites. Regulators have found themselves outpaced by the influx of illegal sites in the Netherlands, spending more on illegal sites than on legal ones. To keep the Dutch News service free of charge, the organization relies on reader donations.

The radio station expresses gratitude to its supporters and encourages readers to contribute, as producing daily news, features, and newsletters requires financial resources.