Regulatory bodies in Europe and Google are collaborating against illegal gambling in the EU. The Dutch gambling regulatory body Kansspelautoriteit’s chairperson Michel Groothuizen confirmed that the regulatory bodies and Google are working together to build a licensing list of companies that are licensed to offer gaming services.
Groothuizen revealed that the task force set up in spring 2026 after negotiations between European regulatory bodies, Google and Meta has been working on establishing the list.
The people who will not be present on the list will be treated as criminals, and all forms of service they provide will be banned by Google. The new task is part of a bigger measure aimed at controlling illegal gambling activities.
Groothuizen said illegal gambling remained a major enforcement priority five years after the Netherlands legalised online gambling.
Groothuizen wrote:
Experience so far with fining illegal providers shows that while we send a clear signal about what is and isn’t allowed, it has hardly any effect when it comes to collection. Frustrating. That is why, over the past year and a half, we have pursued a different track in parallel: frustrating not ourselves, but the illegal supply by ensuring they are harder to find and that payments can no longer be made to or by them. We are not there yet, but the direction is clear.
Initially, the country wanted to work with Google and other technological companies but believed the courts could intervene in the process if the chosen path does not achieve the desired results.
The chairman of KSA said that the fighting illegal gambling is still relevant even after the country legalized online gambling services.