Dutch regulator warns off online betting companies

The Dutch gambling regulator has shown its teeth in the run-up to the World Cup football and the Tour de France, warning foreign betting companies to stop targeting players in the Netherlands on pain of heavy fines and being excluded from the future online gambling licensing regime set to start next year.

Dutch News.nl reports that online gambling is currently illegal in Holland although changes in the law are expected to come into effect in 2015.

The Dutch gambling authority confirmed that it has contacted ten major betting firms but declined to identify these.