Lawmakers from the Dutch Lower House have eventually passed the country’s broadly discussed online gambling bill. The proposed legislation will now have to be approved by the Dutch Senate but given the fact that a vast majority of the House representatives spoke in its support, that would likely not be a big problem.
First talks about the Netherlands regulating its online gambling market emerged almost two years ago. Since then, the proposed bill has been widely discussed by lawmakers and has been amended multiple times in order to be responded adequately to concerns related to taxation, licensing, advertising, impacts on the country’s land-based industry, etc.
With the bill taking so long to be voted on, the European Union warned local legislators that the proposed legislation should not be stalled for much longer and that it should create clear business conditions for future market entrants.
Under the bill’s latest version, lottery and land-based casino operators would be barred from using existing customer databases to promote potential online offerings. What is more, land-based gambling companies will have to establish certain requirements related to player identification. A portion of their gaming revenue will have to be contributed to a specially created fund aimed at helping people with problem gambling behavior.
Under another important provision in the bill, foreign online gambling companies with interest in operating within the country’s borders will not be required to have a physical presence in the Netherlands.
Jasper Hoekert, Co-founder and CEO of Netherlands-based full-service gambling consultancy firm Revenue Engineers, was among the first to comment on today’s positive vote. The gaming expert said that they are absolutely delighted to see the online gambling bill eventually pass through the country’s Lower House.
He further noted that there are certain changes that need to be implemented in the proposed legislation but after all, the framework in its current form is still one that would prove to be workable enough. According to Mr. Hoekert once the Netherlands regulates its remote gaming market, it will quickly turn into one of the most important iGaming jurisdictions within the EU.
As mentioned above, the bill will now have to pass the Dutch Senate. This is likely to happen later this year. And the legislation is likely to come into effect no earlier than 2017.
