In early July the Dutch Lower House has passed an iGaming bill to regulate online gaming in the country for the first time.
Online gaming has remained unregulated in the Netherlands despite many years of attempts by Dutch legislators to bring a regulated online gaming to the country.
In early July the Dutch Lower House has passed an iGaming bill to regulate online gaming in the country for the first time.
Online gaming has remained unregulated in the Netherlands despite many years of attempts by Dutch legislators to bring a regulated online gaming to the country.
The legislation imposes a 29% tax on both online and land-based gambling revenue, plus a further 1.5% to fund the activities of the Kansspelautoriteit regulatory body and an additional 0.5% to fund problem gambling programs.
Not that positive amendments to the approved bill include limited advertising and a prohibition for online gaming operators to use their existing player databases to directly market their services to.
Jaspar Hoekert, co-founder of Revenue Engineers, a full-service gaming consultancy based in the Netherlands, commented on the news: “While there are some aspects of the legislation which are not ideal, this is still a very workable framework and I am confident that the Netherlands will quickly emerge as one of Europe’s most important gaming jurisdictions. For any operators or providers looking to make the most of this new opportunity, it is important to act quickly and seek local expertise.”
Industry experts believe that the bill should be fully approved by the Dutch Senate later this year and could be in effect in early 2017.
