Online gambling is gaining a lot of popularity in the Netherlands this decade. According to the most recent numbers approximately 1.8 million persons gambled in an unregulated offshore online casino which is roughly 10% of the total population. This number was 20% lower in the last two years which shows how fast the industry is growing in the West European country. Recent researchers found out the total online casino market of the Netherlands is worth around 600M EUR which is about 680M USD. To get some more inside on the process of legalization we stumbled on CasinoScouts’ latest news article on this subject.
The most popular online casino games in the Netherlands are poker, bingo, blackjack, roulette and betting on sports. Illegal operators showed to be experts in triggering mostly men in the age 18-35 years. The biggest motivation of the Dutch government to legalize online gambling is to protect their citizens from gambling with illegal operators. Next to that it would allow the government to receive taxes which is set at GGR (Gross Gaming Revenue) 29%. Experts in the field expect new taxes to generate around 175M EUR in tax revenues. Illegal online gambling operators aren’t paying any taxes at the moment.
Conservative parties not in favor of Remote Gambling bill
One of the biggest obstacles to pass the Remote Gambling bill were the conservative parties. The CDA (Christian Democrats), ChristenUnie and SGP were against the bill. Their biggest concern was the increase of gambling addiction. Another big motivation to vote against the bill was gambling not being an ethical source of income for both state and commercial parties.
Legalization process will need some time
Despite the remote gambling law being passed by the Dutch government it will take some time in order for the law to be in full effect. The Dutch Gambling Commission needs time to research and develop the online gambling framework. After the process of developing the framework new online casino and sportsbook providers are allowed to enter the process of obtaining a license which allows them to offer online gambling activities in the Netherlands. Expectations are the new law to be fully operational in 2020 however history shows forming an online gambling framework is very complicated and takes time.
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AFP
