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…

Poker is a game of chance and the organiser of a poker tournament can be prosecuted for breaking gambling laws, Amsterdam’s appeal court has ruled in a case which stretches back nearly 10 years. Officially, the Netherlands regards poker as a gambling game, meaning the state owned Holland Casino group is the only organisation allowed to organise tournaments. The case centres on three men who organised poker tournaments in a bar in Bussum between 2005 and 2007 without a licence. Lower court judges in 2010 and 2014 agreed with the defence, which argued poker has become a different game, depending…

Casino.org – Questionable goings on in the Low Countries this week, as the Blue Gem Gaming website flat-lined while its third-party gaming software disappeared from its clients’ casinos, all of which points to a crackdown by the Dutch authorities. Blue Gem took over some of the assets of disgraced Eindhoven-based slots software developer Sheriff Gaming just last month, claiming to be unaffiliated with the bankrupt company. Blue Gem began to market and license Sheriff’s game titles to online casinos, but it seems that the authorities just aren’t buying it. Sheriff was a successful 3D games developer, producing popular titles such…