Official language: Dutch
Population: 16,440,113
Currency: Euro (EUR)

Current Exchange Rate
1 GBP = 1.0681 EUR
1 USD = 0.6754 EUR

Casinos in Netherlands
The first Dutch Casino was opened in Zandvoort in October 1976 by Holland Casino. Today there are 14 casinos throughout the Netherlands, all owned and operated by the same company. Holland Casino is actually state-run and has a monopoly over all casinos in the country. All Dutch casinos use the words "fair play" in their names, reflecting the Dutch government's view that by controlling all gambling, they can ensure fairness for both gamblers and casinos.

In 2007, a French company named Compagnie Financiere Regionale decided to defy the Dutch gambling monopoly and tried to set up their own casino in the Netherlands. The government quickly stepped in and Dutch courts upheld their government's right to keep the French gambling industry out of their country.

Online Casinos in Netherlands
Online casinos in the Netherlands have always been a sticky subject. Holland Casino launched an internet casino in November of 2000, but it only lasted a few years, and is no longer live. Holland Casino made a deal with Cryptologic in 2007 in anticipation of re-opening the site, but their request for a license from the Dutch Senate was rejected in April 2008. Technically, internet gambling is legal in the Netherlands at online casinos running on a license from the Dutch government. Since the Dutch government has not given any licenses, there are no legal Dutch internet casinos.

Since 2005, the Dutch government has been working hard to keep Dutch players from using foreign internet casinos. They have even tried to implement a blacklist system that forbids Dutch banks from dealing with certain online casinos and other gambling sites. There has been much resistance, both from the EU and from local players. Despite the questionable legal status of online gambling in the Netherlands, the Dutch spend 450 million euros a year at foreign internet gambling sites.