The Dutch gambling authorities have announced the licensees for the newly-legalised online market.
Ten companies will be licensed initially, starting from tomorrow, October 1. They include the Dutch companies TOTO Online, owned by the Nederlandse Loterij, and the state-owned Holland Casino.
Major Dutch arcades operator Fair Play Casino, owned by the Janshen-Hahnraths Group, is among the 10 with its FPO Nederland and so is Nsus Malta, Estonia’s Play North, Tombola, bet365, Betent and LiveScore Malta and Belgium’s Bingoal.
Jan Schiffelers, CEO at Janshen-Hahnraths, told us yesterday: “We are delighted, of course. We have been planning for this since 2001 and in 2015 we set up a Malta-based company, all ready for this day.” Schiffelers paid tribute to the team that worked on the project through to its successful conclusion.
Companies that have operated by targeting Dutch players illegally in the past will have the opportunity to apply for licences next year. In total 30 companies had applied for licences. The Netherlands is a market that already spends around €500m in gaming online.
One of the world’s largest online poker companies, PokerStars, has been banned from the market beginning November 1.
The announcements were made by René Jansen, chairman of the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the gambling regulator.
