The Dutch government operates a state-run gaming sit, De Lotto, and has mightily striven to protect it from any competition. In their most recent move the government asked Dutch banks to halt their processing of financial transactions between Dutch customers and gaming sites that are illegally operating in the Netherlands.
A spokeswoman from the Dutch Ministry of Justice had this to say: “It is illegal to offer gambling services in the Netherlands without a permit. These companies know they can break the law.”The spokeswoman did not give many details but did make it known that two of the online gaming sites that the Dutch government is targeting are the Swedish site Unibet and another Dutch site, Oranje Casino.
The Netherlands is already in hot water with the EU for protecting their domestic online gaming monopoly from outside competition, and this will likely only exacerbate the situation.
