Dutch Government to allow online casinos

We have pointed out on a number of occasions that there are still countries that do not allow online gambling and although they claim that it is to protect the citizens everything points more to the fact that the state owned monopolies draw in more revenue. We hear now that in the casino news the Dutch government which has continued to stop residents from playing at online casinos in spite of EU legislation that should allow it have decided to reverse the policy. The Dutch have a new government since last October and this one claims to be more liberal according to Jaap Oosterveer from the ministry of public safety and justice and Secretary of State Fredrik Teeven has written to parliament suggesting that new laws would allow the government to control how online casinos operate through a licensing system rather than drive them underground and that would include measures to counteract problem areas such as fraud and addiction. The previous government tried to prevent online casinos by not allowing Dutch banks to carry out transactions with offshore gambling sites but it is well established that many Dutch people have found a way around the issue and gamble online as they wish. Legalising online casino gambling will make it much easier for the population and by selling the licenses the Dutch government could make upwards of €10 million per year. The current monopoly operator Holland Casino will probably still run all the land based casinos in the country but we can anticipate that business will reduce as online casinos continue to become more popular.