According to Reuters, Dutch authorities intend to crack down on illegal online casinos and are calling on banks to stop providing financial services to them. “It is illegal to offer gambling services in the Netherlands without a permit. These companies know they break the law,” Justice Ministry spokeswoman said on Saturday.
The ministry has made a list of 30-50 Internet gamers and has asked banks to stop services to these companies.
In the Netherlands only the Dutch state lottery De Lotto has a permit to offer online gambling, and last month the Dutch upper house defeated a bill that would have allowed Holland Casino to open a gambling website on a trial basis.
The Dutch approach to online gaming has put it on a collision course with the European Union, which is pushing for member states to open up their markets to competition. In February the EU gave Greece and the Netherlands a final warning before it initiates court action over restrictions in their gaming markets.
“This is a Dutch issue, so we have only asked banks operating in the Netherlands to participate,” the spokeswoman said.
With all the UIGEA issues that have come up in the US, including banks speaking out against trying to enforce the rules and the Congress holding hearings on the ineffectiveness of the UIGEA, its surprising that the Netherlands would attempt the same path to controlling internet gambling.
Tags: dutch · netherlands · uigea1 Comment
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The Dutch should know better! While Americans are prone to idiotic things like this the Dutch have a long tradition of liberalism and freedom. Please don’t emulate a country that does things like; starting wars for no reason, imprisons millions for non violent drug ‘crimes’, and is generally morally bankrupt. The Dutch are smarter than that!!