Lottery licence fraud uncovered in name of Dutch football club Quick Boys

On Friday, the Dutch gaming authority (KSA) revoked a lottery licence that had been fraudulently obtained in the name of the amateur football club Quick Boys.

According to the regulator, an unidentified individual impersonated the club’s chairman during the application process, thereby securing authorisation to operate a lottery. The licence was used to establish multiple websites offering lottery tickets.

The regulator stressed that Quick Boys had no involvement in applying for the licence and is viewed as a victim of identity fraud.

Consumer warning 

The regulator issued a firm warning to consumers not to submit personal or financial information on the websites. Those who had purchased tickets were urged to contact their bank, file a police report and notify both the national fraud helpdesk and the KSA to assist in assessing the extent of the fraud.

The KSA confirmed it has filed its own police report and declined further comment while investigations continue.

Increase in forged licence attempts

The regulator noted a rise in schemes where false information is used to obtain licences, leveraging their legitimacy to attract consumer funds illegitimately. In at least one separate instance, the KSA’s enhanced verification processes have successfully prevented similar fraud, but the regulator did not identify the operator involved.

In response to the Quick Boys incident, the KSA immediately strengthened identity verification protocols and tightened scrutiny of the domain names listed in its public Gambling Guide (Kansspelwijzer). 

Ella Seijsener, director of licensing at the KSA, stressed the importance of consumer trust in licensed operations and acknowledged the serious nature of this breach.

“We take the fact that a scammer managed to mislead our application process very seriously,” she said.  

The KSA has also recently updated its guidance regarding statutory means testing for online gambling players. It follows inspections that revealed ongoing shortcomings despite improvements across the sector.  

The means test is intended to ensure players do not gamble beyond their financial capacity and forms a key part of the KSA’s “duty of care” framework that was introduced in 2024.