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…

iGaming Business – Holland’s remote gaming bill should be presented to the country’s parliament before the Summer recess despite the coalition government cancelling a planned meeting to discuss provisions in the bill at the end of last week. The meeting was cancelled due to disagreements between different members of the governing coalition, which is made up of the Dutch People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy and the Labour Party. The Dutch parliament breaks up in early July and igaming and lottery reforms were due for discussion at last week’s meeting. Justin Franssen, partner at the law firm Kalff Katz &…