Dutch court sides with current gaming ban

The court ruled that the current iGaming ban is legal until a new legislation gets enacted into a law.

Netherlands.- A court in The Hague has rejected online gaming operator Betsson’s claim that the gambling authorities in the Netherlands’s crackdown on online gaming operators was in violation of EU regulations. The court said that the claims were inadmissible in a court of law.

The company had urged the European Commission (EC) to prevent the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the national regulatory body, to take action against some online operators, due to a lack of legal justification for such actions. The company released a statement on July in which it reminded EC’s suspension over infringement proceedings against the Netherlands ten years ago, regarding Dutch’s plans to adopt an online gambling policy more respectful of EU rules. The country has been prepping new legislation on the matter but it’s not expected to be ready before the second half of 2018.

Betsson purchased Oranje Casino and Kroon Casino in 2014, both in compliance with the previous KSA regulatory regime, but the gambling regulator set new rules in May that restricted international operators from offering gaming services to local players.

As reported last month, Chief Executive of Betsson, Ulrik Bengtsson said that the political situation in the Netherlands will likely affect an hypothetical online gambling law release, resulting in a push back for 2021. The court said that the current ban is legal until the Netherlands comes up with a new legislation and gets enacted into a law.