This week a study carried out by Motivaction and funded by Holland Casino showed that punters in the country gambling illegally in the Netherlands grew by 20% over the past two years.
The study surveyed 18,000 Dutch citizens and showed that an estimated 1.8 million people in the country are illegally betting in the country, which is up 300,000 from the last time a similar survey was conducted. Regular gamblers said they'd prefer to play at a regulated casino, but are un able to do so as the activity is not sanctioned or regulated by the government.
The market is estimated to be worth up to €600 million annually, and an estimated €175 million of that would go to taxes in the country. The government is slated to meet up again this year to try and regulate the industry, with the goal of launching regulated services by 2020.
Speaking about the study's results Holland Casino Director Erwin van Lambaart said, "More and more Dutch people gamble totally unprotected on the internet. They do so with international providers who are established on sunny holiday islands with dubious regulations.
"Moreover, these companies do not pay gambling tax and that is unfair competition."
Casino Listings News will update this story as more developments regarding Dutch online gambling regulation occur.
Comments
So obviously the illegal gambling is a huge issue in Holland right now but for that the local authorities lawmakers should only blame themselves.
Now apparently they eager to regulate gambling after the math done and they've realized the missed goodies in taxes, 175 mill euros yearly...Wow.