AI chatbots cite unlicensed casinos as Dutch-approved, study finds
Research by XY Legal Solutions finds ten leading AI chat and search tools naming unlicensed gambling sites, with some wrongly implying KSA approval.
A study conducted by XY Legal Solutions has found that popular generative AI chat and search assistants regularly point Dutch-language users towards online gambling sites without a licence from the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), according to iGaming Business.
The research, carried out between August and September 2026, tested ten tools: ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, Anthropic Claude, xAI Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral Le Chat and Meta AI.
Researchers put each tool through three types of Dutch-language query: neutral questions about the best online casinos in the Netherlands, questions with explicit illicit intent asking for sites without Cruks (the mandatory self-exclusion register for licensed operators), and requests framed as academic research. Each format was tested with three successive prompts per tool.
Every one of the ten assistants named at least one operator lacking a KSA licence as of 1 September 2026 in at least one conversation, iGaming Business reports. Eight tools did so in response to neutral or leading questions, without any need for researchers to state illicit intent.
Four tools, including Mistral Le Chat, Google AI Mode, DeepSeek and Grok, produced names of unlicensed sites after a single prompt. Some tools initially declined to provide lists on ethical grounds but gave results once prompts were repeated or reframed.
Of 79 recorded test interactions, 33 included at least one instance of a non-licensed operator being named, according to the study.
Three assistants, Microsoft Copilot, Mistral Le Chat and Google Gemini, went further by presenting unlicensed operators in ways that implied legality or official licensing. Microsoft Copilot generated a "Top 50 legal casinos" list that included unlicensed brands, wrongly suggesting all were KSA-licensed and linked to Cruks.
Response styles varied across tools. Some responses promoted illegal sites by highlighting larger bonuses, faster payouts and the absence of identity or Cruks checks, while others referenced public KSA enforcement action or included disclaimers.
ChatGPT and Google AI Mode were the quickest to name unlicensed sites in response to neutral prompts such as questions about popular international sites in the Netherlands. Mistral Le Chat and Google AI Mode also sometimes paired unlicensed brand names with product benefits, framing illegal operators as viable choices. Tools were inconsistent in refusing to list domains, with several giving in once users pressed further.
The findings land alongside separate scrutiny of advertising channels. Dutch gambling trade association VNLOK has summoned Meta to court, alleging the company allowed illegal gambling adverts to reach Dutch consumers on Facebook and Instagram, having first launched legal proceedings in June and lodged a complaint with the European Commission.
VNLOK chairman Björn Fuchs said the association had "repeatedly pointed out the scale of the problem to Meta and asked them to cooperate structurally in finding a solution", adding that this "has yielded insufficient results", which was why the case was being taken to the Dutch courts.