Dutch regulator "overwhelmed" by interest in online market

The Dutch Gaming Authority has been left “overwhelmed” by the number of operators expressing an interest in the soon-to-be regulated online market although many may be unable to meet “strict” licensing requirements, according to DLA Piper gaming lawyer Robin de Wit.

At last week’s eGR Breakfast Briefing in Amsterdam, held in association with Gaming in Holland, the regulator’s chief executive Marja Appelman revealed it had received around 130 expressions of interest from operators hopeful of obtaining a licence, roughly the double the number of submissions it had originally anticipated.

According to de Wit, the regulator has received interest from businesses of all shapes and sizes but warned as many as half could be unable to meet the costs and other requirements associated with future licence applications.

“The KSA did not expect to receive so much interest in Dutch remote gambling licenses – it had counted on only 50 to 80 applications so the KSA was in fact very overwhelmed by this great interest,” de Wit said.

“However, strict requirements are imposed on applicants – costs of the processing of an application only will likely amount to €40,000, gaming taxes have to be paid, financial guarantees have to be provided and operators must be registered in an EU or EEA Member State.

“Therefore, the number of licenses granted is expected to be fairly low – approximately 50% of the operators that currently have expressed their interest due to these high requirements,” she added.

The interest is unlikely to quell concerns that the Dutch market could be dominated by a select number of firms, with some in the industry having expressed fears the market could replicate Denmark, where just a few operators have gained significant market share since it opened in 2012.

Forecasts from Global Betting and Gaming Consultants value the Dutch online market to be worth around €330m in 2016 and €388m in 2017 providing it opens in 2015 as expected.