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

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

Sports Betting in Netherlands
Sports betting is legal in the Netherlands though it is not as popular as it is in most European countries. Betting on sport events is considered a game of chance, so it is not controlled by Holland Casino, who holds a monopoly over most other forms of gambling in the country. Instead, sports gambling is run by two other companies – De Lotto and Scientific Games Racing B.V.

De Lotto organizes typical bookmaker-type sports bets, while Scientific Games Racing B.V. handles all horseracing (Totalisator) events. De Lotto's monopoly over sports betting is sanctioned by the Dutch government. The EU is naturally pressuring the Dutch to break up the monopoly, but it is not working.

Online Sports Betting in Netherlands
Online sports betting is also monopolized in the Netherlands. The site toto.nl is the only legal website for Dutch online sports betting. The site is run by De Lotto, and is connected to the national lottery website. No other online sportsbooks are allowed to operate in the Netherlands.

In 2003, the UK bookmaking company Stanleybet tried to gain a foothold in the Dutch internet betting market by making a localized Dutch version of their website. They ended up battling with the government in Dutch court, and were eventually driven off. Betfair tried the same year later and also failed. There are still international sportsbooks that offer services to Dutch punters, but the government is very much against Dutch players gambling at foreign sites, and is trying hard to prevent it.