Broadcasters in Trouble with Dutch Gambling Law

Gambling in the Netherlands is legal and in complete compliance with Dutch gambling laws, as is the case with most other things in the Netherlands. The country is currently home to a total of 14 casinos. 

The entire gambling industry is highly regulated by the government through a state monopoly known as Holland Casino. This company that this monopoly operates through is titled “Fair Play.” The Dutch government faces concentrated criticism from the EU because of the monopoly, but they argue that it is in the interest of all parties involved. 

Despite the fact that gambling is legal and there are ample opportunities for those who wish to gamble to do so, there are still a few parties that go against the grain with the law. Surprisingly enough the major Broadcasting networks in the region are amongst them. 

The Dutch Justice Ministry recently published figures indicating that 2009’s confiscation of criminal property yielded 50 million Euros, 20 million Euros more than what was confiscated just one year earlier.  

The whopping increase in confiscated millions can be attributed to deals between the Netherland’s Justice Ministry and Commercial Broadcasters. A few of the main production houses in the region were suspected to have broken some gambling laws through phone in TV games. 

In order to avoid a big ordeal the production houses bought themselves out of trouble with a massive 11 million Euro. It’s suspected that such confiscations will become even more popular in the near future as there’s a new bill in front of the parliament which would extend the power of authorities to confiscate criminal properties. 

The dirty deeds went down on television, a completely separate sector from the internet. Internet gambling in the Netherlands is frowned upon by the government, but it cannot do anything about it being that it has no jurisdiction over many of the sites. 

Many play on online casinos in the Netherlands, but the government has yet to issue a license to any specific internet casino operator. Technically, there’s no problem with Dutch players accessing Dutch sites at all, but the government has yet to get on the ball. With the increase of EU pressure the government may reconsider its stance.