Poker News – The Netherlands may be known for its liberal stance on soft drugs and prostitution, but it’s a whole different story when it comes to gambling and poker. There are no legal online poker sites, while state-owned Holland Casino is the only bricks-and-mortar operator available for card players to sharpen their skills in a live environment.
However, legal and regulated online gambling is slowly coming to fruition in the country, although we’re still probably 18 months away from licensed operators opening their virtual doors to customers.
iGaming legislation called the Dutch Remote Gambling Act was drawn up last year, and the Council of Ministers gave a remote gaming bill the green light this February.
After technical advice from the Council of State, the bill is expected to be sent for adoption in the Lower House of Parliament, and then to the House of the Senate for the rubber stamp this summer.
From there, the bill should be published in the Official Gazette early next year. The country’s gaming authority, Kansspelautoriteit, will probably dish out remote gaming licenses to operators in Q2 or Q3 of 2015.
According to H2 Gambling Capital, the Netherlands is the seventh largest EU gambling market in terms of gross win, and H2 predicts the regulated online environment will generate €200 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR) in its first full year.
GamblingData predicts €266.5 million, rising to €370 million in 2016. Sports betting is expected to become the main gambling product. The Netherlands may only boast a modest population of 16.7 million, but around 95% of households have internet access, which still makes this an attractive proposition for domestic brands and European gaming heavyweights.
