The Netherlands Has Passed Online Gambling Legislation

The lower house of the Dutch parliament passed a historic bill for the regulation of online gaming in the country.

This historic bill passed last month in July. The vote paved the way for a fully regulated online gambling market operational for the first time in the Netherlands. This bill is expected to receive the rubber stamp from the Dutch Senate later in the year and the regulation could begin operation in early 2017.

One of the agreed amendments to this bill is a move that prohibits lotteries and land-based operators from using their existing player databases for the promotion of their online offerings.

Jaspar Hoekert, the co-founder of Revenue Engineers, which is a full-service gaming consultancy based in the Netherlands, said that the amendment was a major boon for any new entrants in the Netherlands' online market.

A further victory for this online sector is that land-based operators will be mandated to erect physical entry as well as player identification barriers. They also need to contribute to the problem gambling fund.

Online gaming companies who wish to move to the Netherlands will welcome the move more. The bill has ended years of uncertainty, improved player protection, and will pave the way to more innovation in the market.

Mr. Hoekert commented that they were delighted to see this Remote Gaming Bill pass through parliament. He continued that there were still some aspects of the legislation that were not ideal, but the situation now was a workable framework and that he was confident that the Netherlands would quickly emerge as an important gaming jurisdiction in Europe.

Revenue Engineers are the only gaming company that has specialized in the Netherlands. They offer a full service solution that covers consultancy, product, data, brand and acquisition.

Their dedicated team of 16 gaming experts are based in Amsterdam and they have worked with a number of the local and global clients throughout this regulation process.

They have already begun executing joint ventures with many local and international partners within the Netherlands.