Will Netherlands Legalize Online Poker?

The Dutch government appears set to regulate and license online poker, following recommendation from the country's Online Gaming Advisory committee.

The six-member committee, which was formed in September 2009 by the Ministry of Justice, said in its report that sports betting, lottery and other forms of gaming are already available under Dutch law, without being a problem.

The report added that outlawed forms of online gaming are already in use by Dutch citizens, and that the justice system has not interfered with that.

It also suggested that only local poker companies be permitted to target Dutch players, with foreign operators to be blocked by Dutch ISPs.

Europe-wide

The recommendation follows on from similar moves in other European countries, including France.

The French government began issuing online gambling licenses in June, following the passage of a law that ended the long-running state monopoly on the industry.

Online poker rooms were among those to benefit the most, with French poker sites ranking well against sites from other countries in traffic rankings released soon after the licenses were issued.

Visit OCR's Gambling Legality page for a list of countries and the status of online gambling in their jurisdictions.