Betfair and Ladbrokes Stand to Lose Dutch Ban Appeals

Despite the fact that the European Commission (EC) has been hard at work for the past few years to align online gambling policies in European Union (EU) member states, the task is proving to be difficult as some country refuse to 'tow the line', such as the Netherlands for instance.

Currently an issue has come to a head between leading land and online casino betting and gambling operations, Ladbrokes Plc and leading online betting exchange, Betfair Ltd, who have been fighting the Dutch government for seven years to win the right to offer their services to Dutch online gamblers.

But up until now they have had little luck. And in fact just this week an advocate general at the European Court of Justice was quoted as saying (in a non-binding opinion) that 'The Netherlands does not have to recognize the companies' online sports betting licenses that were issued in other EU countries.'

What this means is that no matter how legitimate Ladbrokes and Betfair are considered to be in other European countries (as they are both licensed and therefore regulated), the Dutch government is under no obligation to accept those credentials and allow them access to its lucrative online gambling industry.

The bottom line is that the Dutch government is refusing to issue Ladbrokes and Betfair with licenses to operate in the country. And it seems to be attributing the reason for this as the 'protection of its citizens against gambling addiction.' As such, the Netherlands has limited betting to a single operator.