Dutch online gambling goes live after last-minute delay

The many delays to the launch of regulated igaming in the Netherlands continued up to the last minute due to a technical fault on the day of launch.

The Netherlands.- Regulated online gambling has finally gone live in the Netherlands. Operators were able to begin accepting players on Saturday (October 2), one day later than planned due to a technical fault with the self-exclusion system, the Centraal Register Uitsluiting Kansspelen (Cruks).

The ten operators that have gained licences to operate online gambling were due to begin accepting players on Friday (October 1), but they were told to wait by the national regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), because of the technical malfunction. 

The problem did not affect land-based operators, which had to link up with Cruks from the same date.

The KSA said on Friday: “Due to a technical malfunction of Cruks, it is not possible for online providers, such as Holland Casino and Toto, to allow players on their websites. The cause of the malfunction has been identified. We are working hard to fix it.”

The regulator announced on Saturday that the problem had been fixed and operators could begin accepting players.

The ten operators that have gained licences to operate online gambling in the Netherlands include the state lottery Nederlandse Loterij’s Toto Online betting brand, that land-based casino chain Holland Casino, Bet365 and Tombola. 

Several online operators that have not gained licences, including Bettsson, Entain, Kindred, 888 and LeoVegas have blocked Dutch players as they prepare to submit licence applications following the Netherlands’ cooling-off period for operators that were active in the unlicensed market.

It’s far from the first delay for the launch of legal online gambling in the Netherlands. The implementation of the Remote Gambling Act that allows online gambling was held up several times, and the launch of the application process on April 1 was also delayed by a technical problem.