A letter from Dutch Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin warning banks that they could be prosecuted for accepting payments from online gambling sites has prompted an investigation by the European Union.
Under current Dutch law, firms offering online gambling services in the nation must have a permit but all such activities are currently nationalised under the Holland Casino monopoly.
According to a report from the Telegraaf newspaper, the European Union has begun to look at Holland’s efforts and the nation could eventually end up before the European Court Of Justice.
“The European Commissioner has asked the appropriate services to start an investigation into the banking blockade,” said a spokesperson for Charlie McCreevy, European Commissioner For Internal Markets And Services.
“As far as we are aware, The Netherlands is the only country in Europe to do such a thing.”
A recent report from research agency Motivaction revealed that the Dutch are spending €450 million a year on Internet gambling, which is double what it spent four years ago. Motivaction reported that 485,000 Dutch players gambled online ‘regularly’ while the nation spent an average of €82 a month gambling over the Internet.
Abstract from www.igamingbusiness.com
