Dutch gaming authority, the Kansspelautoriteit, has detailed that a proposed privatisation of its state owned Holland Casino has been scrapped, following increasing opposition of political groups within the Senate.
Sander Dekker, the minister for legal protection, who is responsible for gambling policy, recently revealed the withdrawing of the bill for modernisation of the gaming casino regime.
First introduced to the country’s lower house, proposals contained within the bill would’ve initially seen ten of Holland Casino’s 14 branches scattered throughout the nation sold.
In a separate sale the remaining four would’ve been let go, with plans also in place to auction licenses relating to two new locations, designed to “open up the casino market to a limited extent”.
Revealing finer details of its progression, the Kansspelautoriteit stresses that opposition came due to the bill for modernisation of the gaming casino regime coinciding with that of the Remote Gaming Act, passed earlier this year.
It is said the political groups in the Senate had increasingly indicated that they held serious doubts about the desirability of the two legislative proposals to coincide.
Due to these concerns, in a letter to Senate, Minister Dekker announced the withdrawal of the bill.
Holland’s Remote Gaming Act is to create a safe, legal market for consumers to gamble online, after Dekker revealed earlier this year that in excess of half a million Dutch people are participating in unprotected in online gambling at the moment.
Officially adopted Tuesday 19 February earlier this year, the new law is expected to come into force during Q3 2020 at the earliest, with licence applications also beginning to be accepted the same year, gaming tax is to be set at 29 per cent of GGR as it was also stressed that the act will encompass “an extensive package of measures to prevent gambling addiction”.
