Netherlands gaming regulator de Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) granted 10 online gaming licenses just as the iGaming market launched October 1.
The licensees include bet365, U.K.-based Tombola and Malta- and Estonia-licensed Play North Ltd., as well as Holland Casino NV, state lottery Nederlandse Loterij; the Janshen Hahnraths Group with FPO Nederland, Italy’s Betent, the Belgian brand Bingoal, NSUS Malta, and LiveScore Malta.
There were 28 license applicants, said KSA Chairman René Jansen, who said he expected more licenses to become available. Each applicant pays a €48,000 (US$56,000) license fee.
“High requirements are imposed on a license, including in the field of addiction prevention and consumer protection, and the KSA tests rigorously,” he said.
The government is working rigorously to shut down illegal bingo and lottery operators. A 4 percent fine has been announced for operators operating illegally. The latest operator to be fined was Tipic, which was dunned €531,250 for illegally offering gaming to residents of the Netherlands.
It’s estimated that more than 800,000 Dutch play on illegal sites, spending about €500 million annually. Jensen told Nieuwsuur, “Many do not even know that it is illegal. There is no supervision at the moment. We cannot really intervene on how they gamble. For the first time, we now have instruments with which we can really intervene.”
“The KSA urges people who want to gamble online to do so with a provider licensed by the KSA,” he added. “This creates a safe environment: the player is assured of a fair game and the provider must make sure that the player does not exceed their limits.”
Operators are required to establish players’ identities in order to block money laundering and to ensure that players have no self-excluded under the Central Register Exclusion of Chance Games.
Jansen hopes that within three years, 80 percent of those wagering online in the Netherlands will be playing on a legal site.
