Holland plans action against illegal Internet gambling sites

Holland’s Minister for Justice Ernst Hirsch Ballin has reportedly told MPs that a ‘black list’ of illegal gambling websites will be circulated to Dutch banks by March, bringing into effect a ban on the processing of Internet gambling payments in the country ahead of a possible wider shakeup of Holland’s gambling regime later this year.

Ballin added that online gambling sites that continue to target Dutch residents will now face unspecified legal action. According to the Dutch justice ministry, it’s currently targeting both foreign-based gambling companies, as well as domestic, but refused to give divulge more details or any specifics.

A Justice Ministry spokesman declined to tell news agency ANP how many sites are being targeted.

The Dutch are spending €450m a year on illegal Internet gambling sites, according to a new survey by research agency Motivaction, quoted in the Telegraaf. This represents a doubling of the annual spend since 2005.

Motivaction says Dutch gamblers, most of them young people, spend an average of €82 a month on the Internet and that there are 485,000 regular players.