Gambling in the Netherlands Today

The Netherlands is among the ten most liberal countries in the world where the citizens are free to practice their political opinions. Unfortunately, it is not the case to the gambling sector. Despite the worldwide expansion of this field today, remote gambling is still illegal in this country. The strict gambling laws there prohibit local operators to expand their businesses. The only legal provider that has reigned in the brick and mortar casino is the Holland Casino operating 14 establishments situated across the country. Nonetheless, Netherlands doesn’t restrict the access to the iGaming offshore sites, but it is illegal to play in the Dutch casinos anymore ("Nederlandse casino spelen” as they say in Dutch). A new law had been approved by the Chamber of Deputies in 2016, but it will not come into effect until the middle of 2019. Meantime, we take a look at the current state of gambling there.

The Dutch Gaming Authority Penalised Two Providers

Kansspelautoriteit or Dutch Gaming Authority (DGA) has a strict set of rules when it comes to protecting the players from illegal gambling. This regulator issues two fines in a total of €350,000 (about £310,219) to the Honeydew Trading Limited and Cyber Rock Entertainment NV. These two companies offered online games of chance in the country despite it is prohibited by the local laws. According to the KSA, these Curaçao-based CyberRock and Cyprus-based Honeydew firms use technology to avoid being visible to Dutch consumers’ IP address. The target operators of the DGA must have the priority criteria to prevent possible gambling problems. These conditions include that the website must use the Dutch language, offer advertisement through Dutch media, and provide the most popular method in the Netherland like “Ideal”. Apart from the two penalized firms, Kansspelautoriteit was already fined many operators including Co-Gaming Limited and Mansion Online Casino Limited & Onisac Limited.

More Chance for New Casino Operators

The government project to privatise the Holland Casino is a real scope to enter the Dutch gambling market. The Holland Casino features 14 establishments in which it will continue the owner of 10 whereas 4 will be sold to the new providers. Besides, the regulator will grant 2 licenses which are a hope for a better future for both the gamblers and the providers. However, these operators are not permitted to offer different kinds of table games but other games of chance will be allowed if the firms hold the license. While waiting for the new laws that will change the Dutch gambling history, it is not a bad idea if the players keep entertained with the various exciting games offered by the Holland Casino. Just visit the website https://www.hollandcasino.nl/ to know more about these games as well as the several promotions that you cannot miss.

Holland Casino is Suffering Financial Difficulties

As stated above, Holland Casino is the owner of the 14 casinos throughout the country. Recently, this great company is financially strapped due to its competition from the foreign online casinos. They are facing challenges with these online casino firms. This local casino collapses with debs of EUR 60 million. The winds of change are sweeping also through the gambling in the Netherland. Nederlandse casino spleen is not very interesting compared to the various overseas casino platforms that are legal in this country. Apart from the hard competition that the casino has to face, these properties lack luxurious and glamour compared to the great casinos like in Las Vegas strip. The last reason why difficulties have occurred is the small tax that the participants have to pay in place. In Holland Casino Amsterdam, the individual visitors have to pay a small entrance fee which leads a bit disappointing to them. Paying fees on the casino entrance is advantageous to the establishments but reduces the visitors’ number. The Holland Casino has been placed under direct supervision due to its desperate financial situation.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes