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As of April 1st, the Dutch gaming authority has started processing applications for their brand-new online gambling license. With this license, online casinos will be eligible to legally offer their services to the Dutch market. The Dutch are one of the last countries to implement such a gambling license, but that hasn’t stopped Dutch players from dipping their toe into the world of online casinos.
This existing Dutch gambling market has online casinos from all over the world eagerly anticipating October 1st, 2021, when the law will officially go into effect and online casinos will open for the Dutch market. Below, you’ll find just why the Dutch market is especially interesting for these international online casinos.
Dutch market
The Dutch gambling market may be under the radar, but it is already substantial. Official statistics are (naturally) incomplete, as the data is gathered by the authorities or current parties operating under the old law. In the old situation, certain state-owned parties could offer limited gambling services: sports betting and physical casinos. But it’s more than just a shinier offering that tells of great potential in the Dutch gambling market.
The Dutch market under those old conditions gives a first favorable indication for potential growth. Holland Casino, the nation’s only full service casino, has reported a revenue growth from € 576 million in 2015 to € 729 million in 2019. Gambling halls, a slot- and machine-based alternative to true casinos, have seen explosive growth as well, with the three biggest companies opening one or multiple new locations each year for the past decade.
Perhaps an even better indicator of the Dutch gambling market is the money spent per capita. The Dutch spend about € 182 in online gambling – with very limited avenues to do so. After a year of campaigning on radio and TV, the national sportsbook website Toto (and the only legal player until October 1st) saw its revenue increase by 97% and drew 45% newly registered players. These staggering numbers are perhaps the single best indicator of why online casinos are nearly salivating at the Dutch market.
Gambling law
The Dutch Remote Gambling Act is not a new idea. The first attempts to regulate online gambling started in 2012, with the inception of the Dutch Kansspelautoriteit (the Gambling Committee). A variety of crises and shifting priorities kept delaying the law, which was voted in place in February of 2019.
To give casinos time to adjust to peculiarities of the law, there is a six-month time period in which these casinos can get their affairs in order, which started April 1st, 2021. The most important unique aspect about the Dutch gambling law is the use of CRUKS, a centralized database that identifies players by their social security number and thereby can exclude problem players across the board, in physical and online casinos alike.
Other considerations are in place to curb promotions, especially preventing promotional messages reaching minors, a mandatory age check using a Dutch banking-related system, and linking to a database that gives the Kansspelautoriteit remote access to records of any gaming activity.
Preparations online casinos
The six months leading up to October 1st are almost a boot camp for online casinos interested in the Dutch gambling market. April 1st marked the moment where online casinos could apply for a gambling license on a specially dedicated website. In order to adhere to every part of the gambling license, online casinos already in existence will have to update their technical specifications. Brand new online casinos dedicated to the Dutch market will be even busier.
Behind the scenes, other parts of the casino are preparing for a Dutch invasion, too. Casinos couldn’t previously offer live games or support in the Dutch language, which means that a whole crew of dealers and representatives needs to be trained. Another significant part of online casinos taking on extra work will be the marketing department. Although casinos are fairly restricted in how they run promotions and who they market to, the results of Toto’s success will have every marketing director buzzing with excitement, as are the Dutch players.
