Amsterdam sets stricter rules for sisha lounges

The Amsterdam municipality is setting stricter rules for who want to start a sisha lounge in the city. Mayor Eberhard van der Laan said this in response to questions from the VVD, Het Parool reports. In future all sisha lounges will be registered as such, instead of just a hospitality business. With the application to open a new sisha lounge, the municipality will henceforth perform a so-called Bibob-test, in which they will examine the business structure, financing, business environment and the owner's criminal record. The mayor hopes to gain more insight on the number of sisha lounges in the city. The number is currently estimated at around 50 or 60, but the exact figures are unknown. According to AT5, the number is in actual fact closer to between 100 and 200. The VVD submitted these council questions after the assassination of Zaandam criminal Youssef el Khataoui in front of the Tapas Sisha Lounge on De Clercqstraat in May this year. According to Dilan Yesilgoz of the Amsterdam VVD, it should be noted that several shooting took place inside sisha lounges in recent months, or offenders were seen visiting such a lounge shortly before an incident.