The Netherlands Begins Online Gaming Crackdown with Payments Ban
May 12th, 2008
The Netherlands Ministry of Justice has confirmed the introduction of measures that would impose criminal penalties on banks and credit card companies for facilitating Dutch citizens gambling on foreign gambling sites.
On Saturday the Ministry of Justice circulated a list of 30 to 50 banned gaming sites, thought to include Unibet and Oranje Casino, to financial payment processors asking them to block transactions between such sites and Dutch citizens.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice said: “It is illegal to offer gambling services in the Netherlands without a permit. These companies know they break the law.”
She added that a dossier of illegal online gaming operators would be given to public prosecutors office for further action.
The move by the Ministry of Justice has further widened the rift between the Netherlands and the European Commission, and is the latest in a string of protectionist moves by European States seeking to protect their national monopolies from private competition.
In late February the European Commission issued a final warning to the Netherlands over the country’s restrictive policies towards gambling services provided by operators in other EU member states. The Netherlands was given two months to bring its laws into compliance with its obligations under the EC Treaty or face legal action at the European Court of Justice.
The deadline passed at the end of April. It remains to be seen what action has been taken by the Dutch authorities or indeed the European Court of Justice.
Earlier this year, the Upper House of the Dutch Senate voted against a proposal to grant monopoly operator Holland Casino with an exclusive license to provide online gaming services in the Netherlands. It is widely thought that the decision was intended to enable the Dutch to defend their position against the European Commission, citing a desire to limit gambling opportunities in the interest of player protection.
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