Justice Ministry official reveals Unibet and Oranje Casino are targets of investigations.
Thursday 15th May 2008
Authorities in The Netherlands have announced that they intend to crack down on illegal online casinos and have called on the nation’s banks to stop providing them with financial services.
According to a report from the Reuters news service, a spokesperson from the nation’s Justice Ministry confirmed that Swedish online gambling provider Unibet along with Dutch firm Oranje Casino were targets. Although the spokesperson declined to give the names of other firms under investigation, the Ministry did reveal that there was a list of 30 to 50 online gambling firms that it had asked banks to stop servicing.
'It is illegal to offer gambling services in The Netherlands without a permit,” said the spokesperson.
“These companies know they break the law.”
The spokesperson said that dossiers on the firms would be passed to the public prosecutor who would then be tasked with bringing cases to court.
In The Netherlands, only the De Lotto State lottery has a permit to offer online gambling and the Dutch upper house defeated a bill last month that would have allowed Holland Casino to open a gambling website on a trial basis.
'This is a Dutch issue, so we have only asked banks operating in The Netherlands to participate,' said the spokesperson.
Authorities in The Netherlands have announced that they intend to crack down on illegal online casinos and have called on the nation’s banks to stop providing them with financial services.