The new coalition government in the Netherlands is thought to have a more liberal view towards machines in pubs, arcades and casinos, according to our information.

The Dutch AWP business has been suffering badly from high taxation for the past couple of years and while there is no news on relief, it is hoped that the subject will be looked at shortly by the authorities.

Meanwhile, the move by the Dutch industry towards debit cards, or cashless gambling, continues. It is now widely expected that within the next two months a pilot scheme will be brought into effect. Initial thoughts of using TITO (ticket-in, ticket-out) now appear to have been abandoned. The favoured system is likely to be some type of debit card which can be used on all machines.