Dutch Regulator Issues Record €37 Million Fine to EOD Code SRL Over Unlicensed Online Gambling

The Dutch Gambling Authority (KSA) has hit EOD Code SRL with a record €37 million ($44.4 million) penalty for allegedly offering online gambling to players in the Netherlands without a license. For PSPs and acquirers, the interesting part is not just the size of the fine: the KSA also leaned on access controls, age checks, and the acceptance of cryptocurrency and anonymous payment methods.

1. The KSA said EOD Code operated multiple websites, including Instantcasino and Skyhills, that allowed Dutch residents to gamble without the proper measures to block access. In a subsequent investigation, authorities tried to place bets on the company’s sites and succeeded, which the regulator treated as evidence that Dutch players could still reach the services.
2. The investigation started with Instantcasino and then expanded to 11 other websites identified by the regulator: Skyhills.com, slotmonster.com, betiro.com, betblast.com, fastslots.com, goldenpanda.com, fastslots.com, sambaslots.com, winningz.com, incognitocasino.com, foxygold.com and luckypays.io.
3. The KSA said several factors made the violations more serious: there were no visible age verification measures, and the sites accepted cryptocurrency and anonymous payment methods, which the authority said could encourage money laundering. That matters for payment providers because the regulator is not treating payments as a side issue; it is treating them as part of the offense profile.
4. The fine was based on estimated revenue, because the KSA said ordinary penalties would not reflect the amount earned from Dutch players. Under its approach, the regulator can use estimated turnover when standard sanctions are too low relative to the financial gains from the violations, and in this case it concluded EOD Code made more from the activity than a normal fine would capture.
5. The KSA said EOD Code claimed on its website to be registered and regulated in Costa Rica. The new penalty tops the previous record of almost €24.8 million imposed in March 2026 on Novatech, which operated Qbet.com and 55bet.com; another major case was Gammix, the operator behind Rantcasino.com and Betoriginal.com, which received a fine of almost €20 million in 2024.

For high-risk payments teams, the practical takeaway is straightforward: the KSA is looking at licensing, geo-blocking, age verification, and payment method mix as one package. If a merchant can take bets from Dutch users and pair that with crypto or anonymous payment rails, the regulator is prepared to treat it as a materially worse case.