by Renee Israel
The recently formed coalition government of Netherlands, which will be
installed in just another week, has made plans to create a regulatory framework
for the country's online gambling industry. The draft of this coalition
agreement was released yesterday, and it promises to modernize the country's
gambling policy.
Holland to Regulate Online Gaming
Mark Rutte, prime minister of Holland, announced, "We will modernize gambling
policy. Online gambling, sports betting, and poker events will be strictly
regulated. This way we expect to prevent the offer of illegally operated games
of chance in the Dutch market. Compliance with license conditions will be
strictly enforced."
The coalition government comprises the Liberal Party and the Labour Party.
Mark Rutte's Liberal Party had been a staunch advocate of online gaming
regulation for a long time and has succeeded in gaining the support of the
Labour Party.
If the new regulations will be implemented, each casino operator will have to
pay 29 percent of its gross profits as taxes to the government.
Many industry analysts feel that taxing gross profits, instead of wagers will
make sure that the Dutch online gambling industry will be more successful that
the Italian and French online gambling industries. .
Gaming Authority Issues Warning
The Dutch Gaming Authority has warned all online casino operators it has
placed in the "illegal" category that they will be excluded from the Dutch
gaming market if they do not heed its compliance warnings.
Half of the 40 companies thus warned, including Ladbrokes, Unibet, and
Bwin.party, have already taken the required measures to become compliant to
Dutch regulatory standards. The Dutch Gaming Authority has assured these
companies that they stand a better chance of getting gambling licenses if they
comply.
According to the terms of the coalition agreement, the Holland Casino, which
is a chain of 14 land casinos generating around 250 million Euros in gaming
revenue for the Dutch government, will be privatized.
Holland is the European Union's fifth biggest economy, and although
considered to be one of the most financial fit EU nations, it has a number of
economic problems.
Although Holland's government debt is much below the EU average, its private
debt is more than any other country in the union. The country, therefore, has no
other option, but to regulate and tax its online gaming industry to boost
revenue.
