Netherlands again delays the launch of its regulated iGaming market

The government for the Netherlands has reportedly postponed the planned debut of the nation’s regulated iGaming market by a month so as to allow operators further time to get to grips with the coming raft of new regulations.

According to a Tuesday report from iGamingBusiness.com, the delay marks the third time the country of some 17 million people has deferred the launch date for its iGaming market following the ratification of its enabling Remote Gambling Act in February of 2019. The source detailed that this most recent interruption was announced by the nation’s Legal Protection Minister, Sander Dekker, to mean that operators will now not be permitted to begin offering their services to Dutch punters until the first day of October.

Suspension series:

The Remote Gambling Act was originally set to come into force from July 1, 2020, so as to allow iGaming firms to go live across the Netherlands some six months later. However, this envisioned launch date was reportedly pushed back to July 1 some eight months later before suffering a second delay to September 1 owing to concerns linked to the coronavirus pandemic.

Revised timeline:

Dekker reportedly explained that his department is now hoping to have implemented the new legislation by the first day of April in order to allow online casinos and sportsbooks to legally premiere across the Netherlands by October 1. The official purportedly moreover stated that he decided to implement this newest delay as ‘careful implementation takes a little more time’ despite an earlier assertion that ‘implementation is proceeding energetically’.

Dekker reportedly proclaimed…

“For this reason, we shall postpone the entry into force of the Remote Gambling Act by one month until April 1, 2021, so that the Kansspelautoriteit regulator and the gambling sector have sufficient opportunity for complete preparation. The opening of the market will then take place on October 1, 2021.”