There are thousands of players that seek Dutch online casinos which is why online gambling becomes more popular each year. But even though online gambling is legal in this country, only online casinos that are hosted in the Netherlands are allowed. We´ll show you the best Dutch online casinos to play at and tell you everything you need to know about gambling in Netherlands.
Check the best Dutch online casinos now!
There are not too many Dutch operated casinos to choose from at the moment. On the bright side, the government in the Netherlands is now starting to open up for non-Dutch operators. This way, Dutch players can finally experience other casinos that are based on foreign countries. In case you are a foreigner who plans on staying in this country for quite some time, you can relax. This is because some of the biggest online casinos in the world were privileged enough to be allowed to enter.
So, keep reading to learn how online gambling in the Dutch market works to satisfy thousands of customers every day.
Dutch gambling laws and regulations: Then
The gambling history of Dutch people is something that’s a little complicated and bittersweet compared with other countries. When it comes to gambling licenses, the Dutch government is a bit hard to convince with simple requests or applications. As a result, the government has not yet given a single license to any foreign online casino. Instead, they did their best prevent their citizens from accessing and betting on these kinds of sites.
However, their efforts clearly went down as a failure as they find it “almost impossible” to control. As a matter of fact, there are more than 400 betting sites where Dutch players place their bets. Technically, their bets are considered illegal but the government’s power over the internet is obviously very limited. However, they did try to block online gamblers by blacklisting online casinos’ hosts. They also insisted that all banks in the country should not deal with online gambling in which the banks refused.
Poker
The only aspect where they experienced success was in limiting access to online poker. Thus, they managed to control its number of players which is no way near in other countries in the UK. Regardless of poker’s popularity worldwide, they managed to prevent its people from playing on international sites that offer poker. But if there is one name that dominated the gambling industry in the Netherlands, it is non-other than the Holland Casino. The casino has 14 branches all over the country regulated by the government.
This encouraged Holland to apply for an online casino license which was surprisingly denied since the government prevents gambling monopolization. Despite Holland Casino’s popularity in the country’s gambling industry, it didn’t have control over online sports betting. In this aspect, the 2 companies that dominate the online platform are Scientific Games Racing B.V. and De Lotto. De Lotto dominates the entire market of sports betting except horse racing betting which Scientific Games Racing B.V exclusively handles.
Before, Toto.dl is the only sportsbook online owned by De Lotto that is legal and available to Dutch players. This is due to the fact that sports gambling in the country is fairly strict compared in other European countries
Dutch gambling laws and regulations: Now
In February 19, 2019, the Dutch Senate finally raised their vote regarding the anticipated Remote Gambling Bill. As a result, it was the majority agreed to issue gambling licenses for online casino operators. The bill took over 3 years before it was passed and the process will begin in the middle of 2021. Just so you know, the Dutch Parliament’s lower house already approved of the bill three and a half years ago.
Now that the Senate passed the bill, they will start to restructure their online gambling market. This means that international online gambling operators will be legally accepted in the country. Finally, the Dutch citizens can now relax and stop being guilty over betting on foreign casinos online. Soon, online casino operators can submit their license requests to the Dutch regulator, Kansspelautoriteir and enter be regulated.
What is coming
The Dutch government will also start to create a new regulatory organization on January 1, 2021. Surely, this is something that can catch a lot of casinos and betting sites’ attention. It is what Dutch gambling enthusiasts have been waiting ever since the online casino was introduced in the global market. Besides, the betting activity in the country is pretty impressive which increased by 20% between 2016 and 2018.
Once they started to enforce the new regulations for online gambling, online gambling companies will be strictly regulated in the Netherlands. So basically, these companies will be required to agree with Kansspelautoriteit’s required tools and rules. This is to make sure that online gamblers will be protected against bogus sites and scammers. Furthermore, Kansspelautoriteit’s set of tools and rules will see to it that the risk of gambling addiction is reduced.
In fact, one of the biggest international operators that are interested in the Dutch market has already expressed its satisfaction. The Betsson Group’s CEO, Pontus Lindwall stated that “Finally, there will be modern gambling legislation in one more big monopolistic market in Europe… We welcome the regulation despite our concern about the so-called cooling off period which could harm channelization of local customers as well as be deemed as non-compliant with EU law.”
Regarding the “cooling off period” this refers to the submitted proposal of Sander Dekker, the Dutch Minister for Legal Protection. His proposal aims to prevent all the “illegal operators” 2 years ago from being granted with a casino license in the Netherlands. Aside from that issue, the CEO expressed his satisfaction that Dutch citizens can finally enjoy licensed and regulated gambling sites.
Penalties for casinos in Netherlands
If there are top 10 things that all businesses hate, a penalty will definitely be included in the list. Believe it or not, even online gambling operators will never be safe from penalties. Rule-breakers may be able to run but they can’t hide from the penalties that the gaming regulators will give them. Last February 2019, Netherlands’ Kansspelautoriteit or KSA announced that its financial penalty for unauthorized online gambling will increase.
From €150,000/£133,437 it will go up to €200,000/ £177,916 and is effective since March 1, 2019. However, Kansspelautoriteit said that this starting point will still be adjusted depending on the operators’ tendency to violate policies. Meaning, this could still go up or down so the country’s regulatory body is expected to be strict and alert. For instance, some of the criteria that may affect it include:
- The number of sites that break the law
- The number of illegal games they offer
- The type of promotional offers they use to attract and deceive Dutch players
The total financial penalty that online gambling operators can get may increase in terms of percentage which includes the following:
- 25% increase for neglecting a previously given warning
- 50% increase for luring minors and problem gamblers
- 100% increase for online operators that were already called to the KSA’s woodshed for any correction
More to know
On the contrary, these fines can also be decreased by 25% if operators cooperate well with the regulator’s probes. In some cases, KSA can also be considerate based on “special circumstances”. However, the regulatory body clarified that operators that plead for ignorance will certainly lead them to no good. The KSA Chairman, Rene Jansen also explained that “the fines we used were not terrifying enough.”
Instead, these penalties are merely a warm-up prior to the new enforcement regime towards the Dutch online casinos. Thus, Jansen added that they aim to “thoroughly review our penalties policy for the future.” Of course, this involves the issuing of local licenses to international online gambling operators after passing the Remote Gambling Bill. For “cowboy operators” that were caught by the KSA due to their “pre-liberalization” actions, they might under the “cooling period”.
Cowboy operators
According to Sander Dekker, cowboy operators refer to “illegal operators who continue to actively [emphasis by Dekker] focus on the Dutch market.” Of course, this includes those operators that were caught prior to the passing of Remote Gambling Bill. Moreover, the cooling can take up to 2 years before they can be allowed to apply for a Dutch license. Until changes are applied, KSA stresses that they will continue to implement the rules regarding those illegal gambling online.
In fact, Kansspelautoriteit has already fined about £400 against 1xBet operators for committing repeated offenses such as:
- Offering Dutch as a language option
- Not geo-blocking Dutch customers
- Processing payments using the popular iDeal service
All the best Dutch casinos in 2022
In case you want to experience online casinos in the Netherlands, we got the best Dutch casinos of 2022 right here. Whether you want to play slots, live casino games or those scratch cards, one of these casinos will do the trick. Check out this list and sign up now to take advantage of their offered promotional offers:
Videoslots Casino
- For new customers only:
- 100% £200 + 11 welcome spins + up to 4 200 extra spins
- Terms and conditions apply. 18+
Mr. Play
- For new players only:
- Exclusive bonuses:
- 1st deposit: 200% up to £300 + 20 ES on Starburst
- 2nd deposit: 40 extra spins
- 3rd deposit: 40 extra spins
Guts Casino
- For new customers only:
- 1. Deposit: 100% £100 + 50 Extra spins on Narcos
- Terms and conditions apply. 18+
PlayOJO Casino
- For new customers only:
- 1. Deposit: 1 extra spin for every £ deposited, up to 50 spins
- Exclusively: 30 extra spins on your first deposit
- Terms and conditions apply. 18+
Benefits of playing at the best Dutch online casinos
Once the online casino is licensed and regulated by the Dutch Gaming Authority, rest assured that your safety is guaranteed. With fair and regulated services, you can focus on enjoying the offered games and promotional offers of the online casino. You can also ensure that these casinos are already licensed by reliable gambling authorities like the UK Gambling Commission. Thus, all transactions can be done safely and hassle-free.
Trusted software providers
One of the best things about these online casinos is its list of software providers. Associated with world-class brands, you can always experience get the best and the latest games available on their platforms.
User-friendly sites and excellent customer service
These Dutch online casinos were not tagged as the “best” for nothing. So, expect to see user-friendly sites that are easy to navigate and a customer support team to assist you all throughout.
Conclusion
Even though the situation of online gambling is not at the best state in 2022, there are still very good casinos available for Dutch players. Quite frankly, we rate these casinos very high, no matter what country they are in.
Submit your review | |
The Dutch Casino selection is not so wide, but we get to play with the good ones.