WOW - Dutch court rules that internet gambling has to be blocked for Dutch residents

bayer1 · Jul 10, 2003

that is a tough decision. i have just been reading the text and it says the following:
any access for dutch residents to online gambling sites has to be blocked by the gambling companies. otherwise there will be a fine starting at 10000 euros a day up to a maximum of 200000 euros.
the case was brought to the high court of arnheim, netherlands by the dutch lottery "de lotto".
furthermore it says the following:
according to a dutch law declared on 1st june 2001 it is not important from which country sportsgambling, casino or lottery action is offered. as long as the stuff can be readen and accessed in the netherlands the dutch laws apply for any illegal offers made by the gambling industry and as long as a company does not have a dutch license it is declared illegal. sportsgambling as well as lottery or casino gambling by non dutch regulated companies is being declared an illegal offer by the companies.
by reading the text it has been ruled that all the money paid in by dutch bettors since june 2001 has to be paid back. therefore the companies only have to pay back the deposits minus withdrawals.
amazing.

CMCS · Jul 10, 2003

How does this effect the Curacao based books since they are under Dutch law?

IntuitionBET · Jul 10, 2003

Hey remember the DUTCH guy in the Austin Powers III Goldmember movie?

Remember his opening line: Hey I'm Dutch...isn't that WEIRD ?

lander · Jul 10, 2003

How can the Dutch enforce their laws upon other countries

Seems to me like they should be the burden on the Dutch ISP providers.

bayer1 · Jul 10, 2003

the case is against these companies and 80 more to come
1. de vennootschap naar buitenlands recht
TELTRADE INTERNATIONAL N.V.,
kantoorhoudende te Vredenberg, Cura?ao, Nederlandse Antillen;
2. AE BET,
kantoorhoudende te Montreal, Canada;
3. FRANK CEZAR,
wonende te Varannes, Canada;
4. de vennootschap naar buitenlands recht
INTERNET OPPORTUNITY ENTERTAINMENT LTD.,
kantoorhoudende te St John’s, Antigua;
5. de vennootschap naar buitenlands recht
INTERNATIONAL GAMING AND ENTERTAINMENT LTD.,
kantoorhoudende te St John’s, Antigua;
6. de vennootschap naar buitenlands recht
GAMEBOOKERS LTD.,
kantoorhoudende te St John’s, Antigua;
7. ERIC BOUCHARD,
wonende te St John’s, Antigua;
8. WN CONNECTIONS,
kantoorhoudende te Porlamar, Margarita, Venezuela;
9. ABRAHAM VLASTIMIL,
wonende te Brno, Tsjechië;
10. de vennootschap naar buitenlands recht
GK WORLD LINK TELECOM S.A.,
kantoorhoudende te San José, Costa Rica;

11. de vennootschap naar buitenlands recht
PERPLEXA S.A.,
kantoorhoudende te San José, Costa Rica;
12. de vennootschap naar buitenlands recht
BML CORPORATION,
kantoorhoudende te San José, Costa Rica;
13. INF. Y COMUNICACIONES DEL CARIBE,
kantoorhoudende te San José, Costa Rica;
14. de vennootschap naar buitenlands recht
TELEPUBLICIDAD SBG S.A.,
kantoorhoudende te Alajuela, Costa Rica;
15. de vennootschap naar buitenlands recht
NORDICBET GROUP S.A.,
kantoorhoudende te San José, Costa Rica;
16. de vennootschap naar buitenlands recht
SCORE SPORTSBOOK INC.,
kantoorhoudende te San José, Costa Rica;
17. de vennootschap naar buitenlands recht
FIRST AMERICAN TRUST LTD.,
kantoorhoudende te Charlestown, Nevis, St. Kitts and Nevis;
18. de vennootschap naar buitenlands recht
SAPPHIRE ENTERPRISES CORP.,
kantoorhoudende te Charlestown, Nevis, St. Kitts and Nevis;
19. de vennootschap naar buitenlands recht
NETGAMES INC.,
kantoorhoudende te Belize City, Belize;
20. BBF INTERNATIONAL,
kantoorhoudende te Port au Prince, Haïti;
21. de vennootschap naar buitenlands recht
INTERNATIONAL SPORTSBOOK SYSTEMS PTY LTD,
kantoorhoudende te Mitchell, Australië;

They have the right to according to the "The Hague" treaty from 1965. That means that whenever a company does not comply to this judgment the dutch administration can charge them with the fee and they have to pay it.

IntuitionBET · Jul 10, 2003

I agree with Lander. Go after the ISP's and have THEM block Dutch citizens.

BTW the Dutch online gambling market isn't even that big...so who really gives a sh*t?

bayer1 · Jul 10, 2003

i know that the market there is not that big but some companies could get in serious trouble by having to pay back the money to dutch bettors. thing of royal or other ones.

DarrylParsons · Jul 10, 2003

To think, the country which pioneered the legalization of weed and has rampant prostitution and tolerance for homosexuality is the one to be so strict against gambling!?

Doesn't make much sense to me...

bayer1 · Jul 10, 2003

http://www.rechtspraak.nl/uitspraak/frameset.asp?ui_id=48882
the link is for anyone who speaks dutch and it is the court ruling.
the point is that they have a state lottery and want to keep the gamling money in their country. they do not want people going offshore. the case has been filed by the lottery against the some 50 or so companies and 80 more to come.
funny thing is that starting next year they banned smoking from public places like restaurants and coffee shops. that means that you can go into a coffee shop, buy a joint and have to smoke it outside on the streets.

andynbg · Jul 10, 2003

Just looked it up. If a book still gives access to dutch customers the fine can be demanded in every country of the world which signed the treaty.
THIS IS THE WORST I EVER HEARD - HOW MANY ALREADY TROUBLED SPORTSBOOKS WILL BE DOWN AFTER THAT DECISION?

VOLTITAN · Jul 10, 2003

Darryl,
I think it is precisely because they are on drugs is the only way to explain this decision. I wonder if the meeting to decide this was held in a hash bar?

bayer1 · Jul 11, 2003

just wondering how your sportsbook handles the case. pinnacle already blocked the dutch bettors. it was furthermore ruled that all deposits have to be refunded minus withdrawals.
you think cr sportsbook can avoid paying the fine then check this
http://faculty.smu.edu/pwinship/arb-31.htm Date of signature: 10 June 1958. Date of ratification: 26 October 1987.

Entry into force for Costa Rica: 24 January 1988.

it only applies to dutch residence.

PariActionOffice · Jul 11, 2003

I wondering if they will be hauling bookies off to the new world court? Better start blocking those IP addresses!

This really does not seem very Dutch-like does it?

acw · Jul 11, 2003

You will find the Dutch anywhere where there is money to be made. It is as simple as that!

acw · Jul 31, 2003

it was furthermore ruled that all deposits have to be refunded minus withdrawals.

bayer1,
Where do you find this?

Dom · Jul 31, 2003

The dutch court cant tell a UK or any other country what to do, as long as they are not operating directly on Dutch ground(and they do not by offering a service over the internet)... Sounds to me like that Dutch court belives they can make rulings that the rest of the world has to follow... amazing..

Guest · Jul 31, 2003

I have gone public with this case in Finland. I wrote about Dutch ruling and Finnish state lottery monopoly on betting. A deputy from the Ministry of Interior replied and guess what? All kind of bullshit, not much about the issue.
Now I have wrote again and questioned all crap that the deputy wrote.
Lets see does main newspaper publish that article.

Holland and Finland are both in EU, and we should have freedom to buy services from every EU countries without problems, but no.
We are still allowed to bet, but who knows what kind of crap deputies of Ministry of Interior has in their sick minds.

From Racing Post:

Ladbrokes to appeal against Dutch ruling

LADBROKES are back in court in the Netherlands on Monday to appeal against a ruling banning Dutch residents from placing sports bets over their internet site.

The court in Arnhem imposed the ban in February after De Lotto, the state-licensed monopoly sports betting operator, brought proceedings claiming that Ladbrokes infringed Dutch law.

Ladbrokes are arguing that the ban breaches the fundamental right under the European single-market principal to accept bets from customers anywhere in theEU.

John O'Reilly, managing director of Ladbrokes e-gaming division, said: “We believe Ladbrokes has the right under EU law to distribute its services freely across borders.”

The outcome of the appeal is not expected for four to six weeks. In the meantime Ladbrokes will continue to abide by the ban.

JOMO2000 · Jul 31, 2003

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> DOM: Sounds to me like that Dutch court belives they can make rulings that the rest of the world has to follow <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Isn't that what the Americans are doing? Now somebody else is doing it and than everybody complains.........

Do I agree? no, offcourse not. Internet is open and should be open for everybody, that's why I think the European court will throw the Dutch verdict to the thrash anyway.

acw · Oct 31, 2003

This one up till today has my total fascination!

There are many countries in the world where they kind of try to implement these laws which will stop its residents from betting in another country. Good example is Hong Kong. Betting in Hong Kong on anything outside the Hong Kong Jockey Club is simply illegal. Still Betfair offers the Hong Kong races and only makes the comment that Hong Kong residents are not allowed to bet on them, but that is about all. So do other books like William Hill. They all have this arrogance of ‘Fvck you HK! The internet is a free world. We can do what we like!’

This Dutch court ruling had huge effects! Most books have either closed down all the accounts of Dutch residents or severely restricted their betting opportunities. Even BetFair offers no more Dutch football matches?!?!? To my knowledge there is no other government (not even the USA) that has made bookies stop taking bets from its residents so radical!

TEASERGURU · Oct 31, 2003

Gambling on the internet CANNOT be stopped. If anyone in Belgium with a brain who wants to gamble can easily circumvent this by going through a proxy server from a country that allows it. the same thing will apply in the united states if the US tries to prevent it. All of this is a joke. the internet is so big that these countries don't have the funds to fight this even if they want to. they should all throw in the towel as anyone with half a brain will still be able to bet without any problems.