Netherlands Online Casino Regulation and Laws
(Wondering where to catch the best online casino entertainment? This guide explores the ins and outs of the online casino market in the Netherlands, as well as the best online casino platforms accepting Hollanders.)
Despite having fairly relaxed rules for rampant industries such as the drug and erotica industries, all forms of online gambling remain illegal in the Netherlands.
Reports, however, indicate that online gambling in the territory has increased by nearly 30 percent in a period of only two years with the most popular online gambling activities being sports betting, online bingo, online poker, and online slots.
As you probably know, the casino industry in the country is monopolized by Holland Casino. The government endorses this gambling empire over all other gambling platforms in both online and brick & mortar casino environments.
This will certainly change in the coming years but before that, something has to be done to protect Dutch punters. Our review explores the current state of affairs in the Dutch online casino market, how players can remain safe, as well as the safest online casino destinations for players in the Netherlands.
Online Casinos in the Netherlands
There’s not much that a casino monopoly can offer. That’s why players in the Netherlands go to great lengths to catch the latest casino entertainment in online casinos. Although there are no locally hosted online casinos, players can still access foreign online casinos.
As long as the foreign casino accepts wagers from Dutch Players, the players can comfortably place their wagers without the fear of being prosecuted. This is because the EUR foreign casino is the one who will end up being prosecuted and fined if caught.
Even so, it might be unsafe to hop from one casino to another looking for a casino that accepts Dutch players. That’s why we have included a selection of the safest online casinos fully licensed by reputable overseers of the online casino industry.
For you, it will just be a matter of skipping the searching part and heading straight to enjoying your favorite online casino games. Who knows? You could be the one walking away with the jackpot in one of the Dutch casino online listed for you here!
Why did we go to great lengths to handpick the best online casinos in the Netherlands for you? Well, the online casino is already packed to the brim with so many casinos and it can be hard to distinguish the good ones from the bad ones.
To lay things out plainly, it is also quite boring to personally read through Netherlands online casino reviews and cross-check the information by visiting each casino.
That’s why we decided to hand you everything in a silver platter. Rest assured that our experts did a thorough check of the following for every online casino that accepts players from the Netherlands:
- Game Selection
This is the most important criterion for judging any online casino. The casinos in our collection host a wide range of online casino games from different categories.
If you are online slot fan, you will go head over heels when you see all kinds of online slots ranging from 3-reel classics to the modish 5-reel free video slots with hundreds of paylines. Players preferring games in other categories such as roulette, card games, dice, bingo, and scratch cards are also not left out.
You will come across game titles from the most reputable casino software providers such as NetEnt, Microgaming, and Play n’ Go.
- Licensures
To offer a safe online casino environment, the online casino must have acquired licenses from reputable online casino industry watchdogs such as eCOGRA, the UKGC, and the Curacao Gambling Authority (based right here in the Netherlands). With licensures from such bodies, Netherland casino gamblers are assured of fair payouts and most importantly, security when making transactions to and from the online casino.
- Banking Options
What would be the point of the Netherland online casino if it doesn’t allow you to play for real money? We ensure that each online casino in Netherland we add to our list allows you to make deposits and withdrawals using a wide range of secure methods such as Paypal and all major debit and credit cards.
If you are a newbie looking for the best casino for Dutch, our top picks for you includes casinos with the best perks for new players such as Royal Panda. If you want to try out any of our Dutch casinos, just click on it, create an account, and then make the first deposit to claim the welcome bonus.
In some of the casinos, you will immediately be awarded a Netherlands Casino Online No Deposit Bonus that allows you to play for real money before you even make the first deposit!
For those online slot lovers who are not yet ready to play for real money, you can find Dutch Free Slots No Download No Registration right here. These are especially perfect for newbies who want to get a feel of online slot games without using their own cash.
Online Gambling Legislation in the Netherlands
By now, you already know that the government in the Netherlands does not have a soft spot for online gambling activities. The state puts a lot of emphasis on clamping down errant online casino operators but clearly, those efforts are not always so fruitful. To help you learn more about player safety in Dutch online casinos, we have answered the most common questions concerning this stringent gambling environment:
- What is the legal age for online gambling in the Netherlands?
Is there a legal gambling age in the Netherlands considering that online gambling is itself illegal? Well, yes there is! Reason being that participating in illegal online gambling as a minor would further compromise the whole situation. You have to be 18 years old to be allowed to gamble in any Dutch online casino.
- What is considered as legal gambling in the Netherlands?
Legal gambling is deemed as all real money wagering done in state-owned land casinos. There is a total of 14 land casinos spread all over the territory all under Holland Casino. All other forms of gambling in both land and online casinos are illegal. Despite this, whether to allow Dutch Players to gamble online or not rests in the hands of the respective online casinos.
Talks are currently underway to legalize online gambling in the Netherlands. This is due to a number of factors including the fact that the state is losing a huge amount of revenue to the online gambling industry every year.
- Is there a gambling regulatory body in the Netherlands?
The main gambling regulatory commission in the Netherlands is kansspelautoriteit or simply just KSA. It is responsible for licensing any new legal casinos, investigating errant casino houses & imposing fines, and generally ensuring the safety of all punters in the region. Of course, there are several other smaller safe and responsible gambling regulators in the Netherlands but they all fall under KSA.
- Are there any Gambling Acts in place in the Netherlands?
Online gambling restrictions in the Netherlands are laid out by the Games of Chance Act. It was primarily drafted to protect Dutch players from online gambling addiction and ensure that gambling is not used for money laundering.
- When was online gambling restricted in the Netherlands?
Online gambling was not regulated per se until 2005 when the state banned all online gambling activities.
- What is the most popular form of online gambling in the Netherlands?
According to a survey commissioned by Holland casino in November 2018, the most popular form of online gambling in the Netherlands is Bingo and Sports Betting.
- What is the fine for illegal online gambling in the Netherlands?
The KSA levied a total of $1.95 million in fines to 23 illegal casino operators last year. This was a rise from the $1.1m raised the previous year. Some of the big casino brands charged for illegally operating in the Netherlands include William Hill, Mr. Green, Bet at Home, Betsson, and CyberRock.
The History of Gambling Activity in the Netherlands
Gambling activity in the Netherlands can be traced back to the early years when noble men and women used to place wagers on medieval sports. This later evolved to serious lottery schemes in the early 1700s.
Since then, the Dutch Gambling market has gone through a lot of changes as the residents continue to embrace other forms of gambling ranging from bingo to card games. More changes are also bound to happen with the imminent legalization of online gambling in the Netherlands.
The first land casino in the Netherlands was opened in 1976. Since that time, only 13 more casinos have been launched in the territory spread all over major cities such as Utrecht, Rotterdam, and Eindhoven. The biggest of them all is located in Amsterdam.
As for online casinos, EU casino operators tried to resist the government’s move to ban all online activity in 2005 but they evidently did not succeed. It is for this reason that they have remained cautious when extending their services to Dutch players since then.
In 2013, there was some glimmer of hope when the Gaming Authority set forth a motion to try and convince the state to legalize gambling activity in the Netherlands. The body claimed that legalizing gambling would not only earn revenue for the state but that it would also enhance the security of punters in the region.
The house passed the draft bill back in 2016 and talks are still ongoing to recognize and announce its recommendations officially to the public. Dutch players can now brace themselves for a legal online casino environment packed with variety in online casinos and casino games.
Perhaps the greatest thing to note about the gambling activity in the Netherlands is that all through the years, the residents have not allowed themselves to be left behind by the rest of the world no matter what.
Online Gambling in the Netherlands Today
Dutch authorities continue to debate the Remote Gambling Bill this month. This bill will legalize online gambling and allow the state to impose a 29% tax on all online gambling revenues generated in the Netherland territories.
There are also other issues attracting lots of criticism from the public right now. One of them is whether or not to allow KSA to block IP addresses of Dutch residents who intend to participate in illegal online gambling.
There are also widespread concerns about whether legalizing gambling activity will lead to cases of problem gambling among the residents.
What is the future of online Gambling in the Netherlands
Despite the strict rules surrounding the online casino market in the Netherlands, residents exhibit huge interest in online casino offerings. To their relief, International casinos accepting players from the Netherlands have provided a safe way to bend these stringent online casino gambling rules.
According to recent statistics, about 2 million players (out of the 17 million Dutch residents) in the Netherlands are already engaged in some form of online gambling.
The same statistics reveal that a whopping £679 million was spent on the illegal gambling space, so the state is missing out on an important source of government revenue as it does not get to tax the EU online casino providers operating in the Netherlands.
There has not been much progress in the legalization of online gambling activity in the Netherlands. It will, however, just take a day to announce the legalization of all gambling activity so there’s no need to be so anxious. In the meantime, take a tour around our site to enjoy the latest casino entertainment from our collection of the best online casinos that accept Dutch players.
