It appears that a bill which would legalize online gambling in the Netherlands has been gaining support and may very well become law soon, according to numerous reports. Originally introduced two years ago, the bill was finally debated by the Dutch Lower House last week. That debate is set to continue today, June 30th, with a likely vote next week.

According to GaminginHolland.com, the bill should pass the Lower House because it has the support of the majority coalition. The bigger question is whether or not it can pass muster in the Senate, as the two coalition parties – the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Labour Party (PvdA) – only account for 22 of the 75 total votes when 38 are needed for the bill to succeed.

GaminginHolland did report, though, that the opposition parties – Democrats 66 (D66) and Party for Freedom (PVV) – agree with the bill “in principle” and will likely give their support, even if they are not as gung-ho about it as the VVD and PvdA. Thus, if all of them vote in the affirmative, there is a good chance that their counterparts in the Senate will, as well.

Currently, Dutch law considers online gambling illegal, but unlike in the United States, where most online operators have withdrawn from the market despite online gambling, particularly poker, landing in a legal grey area in most jurisdictions, online operators have continued to accept Dutch customers without much trouble.

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