Dutch to fight illegal online gambling the American way

Dutch to fight illegal online gambling the American way Dutch authorities have asked local banks to stop processing payment transactions for online gambling companies, while they have the full intend to launch a crack-down of the online casinos soon. "It is illegal to offer gambling services in the Netherlands without a permit. These companies know they break the law," a Justice Ministry spokeswoman said on Saturday, adding that Swedish online gambling company Unibet and Dutch firm Oranje Casino were targets of those requests. According to the spokeswoman, a list of about 50 online gambling companies has been created and distributed through the local bank system with request banks to stop financial services to these companies. She also said that dossiers would be passed to the public prosecutor who would be tasked with bringing cases to court. "This is a Dutch issue, so we have only asked banks operating in the Netherlands to participate," the spokeswoman for the Dutch Justice Ministry explained.

This attempt to restrict online gambling in Holland not only follows the already failed American attempt at cracking down on the banks re online gambling, but also puts the country at odds with the European Union, which is pushing for member states to end their state gambling monopolies and open up their markets to online gambling competition. In February the EU gave Greece and the Netherlands a final warning before it initiates court action over restrictions in their gaming markets.

Published on 05/10/2008