Holland Casino and Dutch Lottery get online gambling licenses
Holland Casino and the Dutch Lottery, known for the Staatslotterij and Lotto, received permits from the Gambling Authority to legally offer online gambling from Friday. They are bound by strict rules to prevent gambling addiction.
The companies FPO Nederland, NSUS Malta, Play North, Tombola, Hillside (New Media Malta), Bingoal Nederland, Betent, and LiveScore Malta also received permits.
At the moment, it is still illegal to offer online games of chance in the Netherlands. Anyone who wanted to gamble online was therefore dependent on sites not under the supervision of the Gambling Authority. This will change as of 1 October due to new legislation.
At the start of April, 29 companies submitted a license application to the regulator. Ten companies are now the first to receive approval for offering online gambling. The providers must comply with strict conditions regarding supervision and regulations in order to limit the risk of gambling addiction as much as possible. Money laundering must also be prevented. The providers also have to pay gambling tax. In addition, there is a minimum age of 18 and advertising for gambling online must not be misleading or lead to excessive gambling.
Several large international provides of online gambling still have to wait for a license to legally operate in the Netherlands. They illegally offered online gambling on the Dutch market in the past. The Gambling Authority imposed fines for this.
It is estimated that approximately 1.5 million people are actively gambling online in the Netherlands. That market has an estimated value of approximately 800 million euros. This includes games of chance like poker, roulette, blackjack, slot machines, and sports betting. Incidentally, the number of people with gambling addiction problems is believed to be relatively small.
Chairman Rene Jansen of the Gambling Authority is pleased that the online gambling market is now opening legally. According to him, the authority has made extensive preparations to ensure proper supervision of online gambling games and to prevent gambling addiction and money laundering.
