Holland Cracks
Down on Illegal Gambling Sites
May 14 - Dutch authorities intend to crack down on illegal
online casinos and are calling on banks to stop providing
financial services to them, a Justice Ministry spokeswoman said
on Saturday.
"It is illegal to offer gambling services in the Netherlands
without a permit. These companies know they break the law," she
said.
She confirmed that Swedish online gamer Unibet and Dutch firm
Oranje Casino, were targets, but declined to give other company
names. The ministry has made a list of 30-50 Internet gamers and
has asked banks to stop services to these companies.
The spokeswoman said dossiers would be passed to the public
prosecutor who would be tasked with bringing cases to court.
In the Netherlands only the Dutch state lottery De Lotto has a
permit to offer online gambling, and last month the Dutch upper
house defeated a bill that would have allowed Holland Casino to
open a gambling website on a trial basis.
The Dutch approach to online gaming has put it on a collision
course with the European Union, which is pushing for member
states to open up their markets to competition. In February the
EU gave Greece and the Netherlands a final warning before it
initiates court action over restrictions in their gaming
markets.
Most of the illegal Web gambling is via credit cards.
"This is a Dutch issue, so we have only asked banks operating in
the Netherlands to participate," the spokeswoman said.
Europe is grappling with the issue of Internet betting. While
some countries like Britain have opened up to almost every kind
of online gambling, others like Germany and France have been
reluctant to follow suit, concerned about gambling addiction and
worried that state betting monopolies would see their revenues
eroded.
Last year Unibet's Chief Executive Petter Nylander was arrested
in the Netherlands and taken to France where a judge had issued
a European warrant for contravening France's betting laws. He
was freed on bail.
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