Several international operators are focused on a possible entry into a regulated Dutch online gambling market. But tax disputes between land-based and digital operators may stall passage of the Dutch Gambling Act that has been debated since 2014 when the government submitted its first version of the act to the European Union, according to Henk Kessler, vice chairman of the Netherlands Gaming Authority. Kessler recently spoke at the ESSA Sports Betting Integrity Conference.
Kessler said implementing the act looked promising for 2016, but because of disagreements, ministers failed to pass it before the Parliamentary recess for the 2017 Netherlands General Election. He said the House of Commons and the Senate closely scrutinized the legislation and “they asked all the expected questions about all the typical subjects, including match-fixing.”
Kessler said the influence of the conservative Christian Union within the new government could further delay the Gambling Act. That coalition could require online gambling operators to maintain some kind of physical presence in the country. If it gains approval in January, a 6-month period of licensing and regulations would follow before Dutch residents could legally gamble online in July 2019.
Kessler said, “The new coalition government reached an agreement to continue the bill. This means the new time frame is probably by the end of this year, the act will be dealt with by the Senate, then some legislation has to be presented to both houses, but that shouldn’t be a problem, this will mean that the new online gambling laws could be enforced in January 2019.”
