Online Casino Style: News - Netherlands are Advised to Legalize

09/11/2010		Netherlands are Advised to Legalize
Home History Games News Dictionary		Though it comes as no surprise to the rest of the online gambling community, a new report has been submitted to the government of Netherlands this week, recommending the legalization of online poker in lieu of continuing with their monopolistic standards, going so far as to call the current legislation ‘barely enforced.’ The recommendation came from a commission from the Dutch Justice Ministry, mandated by Justice Minister Ersnst Hirsch Ballin. The goal of the Commission was simple and clear: to determine the pros and cons of the different options available in regards to the internet gambling industry. Their findings were just as clear, in that the Commission unanimously voted that the best course of action to be taken by the government would be for the legalization and liberalization of the market. They referred to the option as less of a choice and more of a necessity, asking that the lawmakers prepare themselves for the inevitability of the change. The liberalization wouldn’t need to be as big as some of the other European nations’, given that the Dutch market is smaller as it is. The Commission said that the preparation would need to be made to pass out just a few licenses to qualifying companies, but enough that their monopoly would be officially broken. The Netherlands government has done a poor job of enforcing the monopoly as it is, with millions being siphoned off to benefit the bottom lines of offshore and foreign online casinos. The publication Dutch News.nl reported on the topic this week, saying that dozens of poker sites offer full services to residents, with no consequences by either police or officials. In order to prevent access to foreign sites, the market will need to be opened up in-house, and a system developed in terms of regulation that will compel internet service providers to block access on an ISP level.

09/11/2010

Netherlands are Advised to Legalize

Though it comes as no surprise to the rest of the online gambling community, a new report has been submitted to the government of Netherlands this week, recommending the legalization of online poker in lieu of continuing with their monopolistic standards, going so far as to call the current legislation ‘barely enforced.’ The recommendation came from a commission from the Dutch Justice Ministry, mandated by Justice Minister Ersnst Hirsch Ballin.

The goal of the Commission was simple and clear: to determine the pros and cons of the different options available in regards to the internet gambling industry. Their findings were just as clear, in that the Commission unanimously voted that the best course of action to be taken by the government would be for the legalization and liberalization of the market. They referred to the option as less of a choice and more of a necessity, asking that the lawmakers prepare themselves for the inevitability of the change.

The liberalization wouldn’t need to be as big as some of the other European nations’, given that the Dutch market is smaller as it is. The Commission said that the preparation would need to be made to pass out just a few licenses to qualifying companies, but enough that their monopoly would be officially broken. The Netherlands government has done a poor job of enforcing the monopoly as it is, with millions being siphoned off to benefit the bottom lines of offshore and foreign online casinos.

The publication Dutch News.nl reported on the topic this week, saying that dozens of poker sites offer full services to residents, with no consequences by either police or officials. In order to prevent access to foreign sites, the market will need to be opened up in-house, and a system developed in terms of regulation that will compel internet service providers to block access on an ISP level.