Dutch Nix Online Casino Bill

The upper house of the Dutch Parliament has voted against a bill that would allow Holland Casino to operate an online casino.  Holland Casino has the state monopoly for gambling in The Netherlands and wanted to test an online casino. The casino has spent a year working with CryptoLogic to develop the software in anticipation of being granted an exclusive license by the government.   The bill, which was passed by the lower house in 2006, was narrowly defeated in the upper house by a vote of 35-37. 

The bill, if passed, would have resulted in stiff competition for online gaming companies like Party Gaming, Bwin, and Sportingbet since it is believed that many Dutch players would have gambled legally with the respected Holland Casino.  These players will now continue to place their bets elsewhere.

Holland, like other European countries, is grabbling with the online gambling issue. They, along with Greece, were warned by the EU of possible court action for restricting gambling competition. The EU policy promotes competition within the EU, and this covers online casino betting also.  Countries like France and Germany have restricted online gambling trying to protect their lucrative state-run gambling monopolies.  

The Dutch feared than an exclusive license to Casino Holland would cause them more problems with the EU.  Many ministers felt that there were already enough gambling opportunities for the Dutch without introducing another one.  The no vote clears the way for legislation aimed at the financial companies that process the financial transactions between Dutch players and the online gambling companies. The Netherlands Ministry of Justice is expected to release a list of banned gaming sites in the near future and financial companies would be required to block transactions between Dutch players and companies on the list.

Posted: April 2, 2008

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