Online Casino Operator Bwin Leaves the Dutch Market

According to online Dutch gambling news internet casino operator Bwin.party digital entertainment has complied with the new directive by the Netherlands Gambling Authority (Kansspelautoriteit).

The Dutch gambling law enforcing agency requested unlicensed online gambling operators to stop providing services targeted at citizens of the Low Countries.

Bwin.party digital entertainment is said be one of twenty Dutch online casino operators that received an order to stop targeting the Netherlands.

Other major online gaming brands include Ladbrokes and Unibet. The latter is also considering complying with the new gambling regulation in the Netherlands and took steps to leave the Dutch market.

According to industry rumors, online gaming operators who do not fail to heed the orders will be viewed more favorably when applying for a new license that is supposed to be awarded in the future.

According to industry estimates, Dutch gamblers spend yearly 450-500 million Euros on offshore internet gambling sites. The legal situation of online casinos in the Netherlands have always been questionable at least.

From a pure legal and technical point of view, online gambling is legal in the Netherlands. But the Dutch government has not issued any licenses; therefore there are no legal Dutch internet casinos.

Holland Casino actually launched an internet gambling site as early as November 2000, but it closed after a few years. Holland Casino and Cryptologic wanted to re-launch the site in 2007, but license request was rejected by the Dutch Senate in April 2008.

Dutch government is trying to ban Dutch players from using foreign online casinos by implementing a money transfer blacklist for banks naming the certain internet gambling sites.

Recently, there has been some pressure from the EU to harmonize Dutch gambling laws with the European standard policy.