Dutch online gaming market out of reach
21st May, 2008
Betfair's case to acquire the Dutch gambling license is likely to be overdrawn, it has been reported today.
The online poker and betting giant, Betfair has filed a case earlier this year against the Dutch government, pledging to be allowed a Dutch license and therefore to start providing their service to online Dutch players.
The case progress shows that it is highly unlikely that the Netherlands’ Council of State is going to verdict on the case between Betfair and the Dutch government in favour of the online gaming operator.
The reasoning behind overruling Betfair application is based around Dutch gambling monopoly policies.
It is now clear that the Betfair case against the justice ministry is not going to see the result for a minimum of two years. This is because the European Court of Justice needs to make a decision on the case to resolve it now the ruling by the Council of State was announced.
It comes as no surprise as other European online gambling markets have shut their doors to foreign operators too. It seems like it all started with the US law against offshore operators.
By Elena
