Curacao-based Novatech has found itself on the receiving end of a one-two punch of regulatory action from Sweden and the Netherlands, but in the face of a massive fine evidence, suggests the operator may be ducking for cover.
On March 10, the Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) issued its largest ever fine to Novatech Solutions, reporting that it had been offering illegal gambling to Dutch citizens through a range of websites.
Via the URLs amonbet101.com, supraplay.com, amonbet.com, bilucky.com, gxspins.com, kaasino.com, hiddenjack.com and luckymax7.com, the KSA said that Novatech had allowed Dutch players to deposit and gamble without a local licence.
The regulator also alleged that Novatech’s operations did not have any obvious methods of age verification and allowed anonymous payments using cryptocurrency.
Despite the penalty coming in at a record €25m, regulators say they were pushing for an even more extreme punishment, but were limited by law to fines of no more than 10% of a company’s estimated revenue.
“Novatech earned hundreds of millions from its illegal offering, primarily from Dutch players. A fine of 24 million sounds impressive, but without the 10% maximum, the fine would have exceeded 100 million euros; an amount that would be more appropriate for this offense,” said KSA chairman, Michel Groothuizen.
The ripple effects from this enforcement action may yet impact other parts of the gambling ecosystem.
The KSA said that Novatech websites had been advertised in the Netherlands by a number of influencers, who “can also be sanctioned”.
Information available on the Dutch regulator’s website indicates that Novatech has appealed against the enforcement decision.
And another one
A day later in Sweden, Novatech Solutions once again found itself on the receiving end of European enforcement, as the Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) banned the company from targeting its home market.
The regulator highlighted websites qbet.com, mangacasino.com, slotexpress.com, 55bet.com and 30bet.com as having offered gambling to the Swedish market without a licence.
Companies targeted for illegal gambling enforcement in Sweden have to clear a fairly high bar.
While it waits for long pending amendments to the country’s gambling to be implemented, the SGA can only take action against companies that are clearly attempting to solicit customers from Sweden, rather than those who simply passively accept players.
As evidence of targeting on the part of Novatech, the SGA said that the operator’s websites pre-selected Sweden’s telephone country code on sign-up forms when they detected a Swedish IP address.
Some of the sanctioned websites were also being advertised via Swedish-language content on video streaming platforms, the regulator added.
The lack of financial penalty in Sweden carries less immediate threat than the Dutch enforcement case, but still adds pressure to the operator.
There are also immediate effects in Sweden, where game suppliers are licensed and cannot sell content to companies that illegally offer gambling in the country.
It was not noted on the SGA’s website or its enforcement notice whether Novatech Solutions has appealed.
Moving target
Dutch authorities may have trouble collecting their record fine, according to data from the Curacao Commercial Register.
An excerpt of the register indicates that Novatech Solutions discontinued its registration on March 11, the same day Sweden issued its ban and one day after receiving a fine from the KSA.
However in the Curacao Gaming Authority’s list of licensed entities, which was last updated on March 10, Novatech is still marked as holding a temporary licence.
According to the register, it applied for a licence on June 24, 2025 and an assessment of its application is still in progress.
June 24 was the date at which licences issued under Curacao’s former gambling act (NOOGH) ceased to be valid, after which operators need to have applied for a licence under the new law (LOK).
Curacao’s new regulatory regime has been billed as an attempt to add credibility to a jurisdiction that has historically attracted the ire of international regulators. Officials have in the past claimed that the island nation acts as a staging post for infringing gambling operations around the world.
At time of publication, Novatech websites include 55bet and Qbet still appear to be active, although indicate that they are regulated in Curacao under the now-expired NOOGH.
Working together?
The consecutive nature of enforcement by the KSA and SGA raises natural questions about potential collaboration between the two authorities.
In recent years European regulators have spoken frequently about an uptick in information sharing, especially when it comes to restricting the offshore sector.
The KSA and SGA also signed a memorandum of understanding in October 2020, which included among its pledges a promise to cooperate in “combatting illegal operators of remote gambling”.
However the SGA told EEGaming that it did not partner with the KSA in any way in its investigation of Novatech.
“There is no cooperation in these cases, nor are there any procedures for coordinating supervision of individual unlicensed companies across different countries,” a spokesperson said.
“Gambling authorities within the EU often act against the same operators, as the companies frequently operate in multiple markets.”
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