Dutch online gambling market continues to grow

The Dutch government has yet to implement its online gambling legalisation regime (see previous reports), but that hasn’t stopped the market from growing, according to an overview published this week by the regulator, Kansspelautoriteit.

By the end of this (2015) year the Dutch market will have be generating GGR of Euro 296 million, Kansspelautoriteit estimates. That represents a 7.6 percent year-on-growth over 2014, thanks to the estimated 437,000 Dutch online players who have gambled online in 2015.

Despite the significant growth, the online sector still contributes only 13 percent of overall gambling revenues in the Netherlands. The land casinos still attract more players, according to the review, which claims that Dutch punters generally prefer land casinos…more so than neighbouring populations.

The overview flags the important point that 83 percent of the Dutch players currently online have shown no signs of developing a gambling problem, whilst just 11 percent are perceived to be “at risk” and 5 percent can already be loosely classified as problem gamblers.

The debate over Dutch tax rates – 20 percent of GGR proposed for online gambling operators compared with the 29 percent land operators pay, continues.

Kansspelautoriteit reported earlier this year that it has already received expressions of interest in online gambling licenses from over 200 companies.

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