The Netherlands is famous for its relaxed laws on drugs and prostitution but when it comes to gambling before 2012, the country tried to put lots of restrictions on its people. To put it in a simple way, it was legal for Dutch residents to gamble online but only on websites hosted in the country itself (by the time of 2021). To understand more about the legalities of online betting in the Netherlands, you can look at bemybet.com, where you will be guided with lots of information on the rules, strict taxes, and the ways to find the best online casinos. However, to learn more about the legal sports betting landscape, you can continue reading here further.
The Legal Landscape
Online sports betting is legal in the Netherlands but up until 2021, the sports betting regulations and rules were under the monopoly of De Lotto and Scientific Games Racing B.V. People were allowed to wager on their favorite sporting events at shops and through the TOTO website. During that time, it was illegal for any offshore operator to allow citizens to gamble online in the Netherlands until or unless a single license was given out for doing such activities.
- Before 2021, it was not illegal for Dutch residents to play at the shops and the sites owned by the authorities.
- In spite of these monopoly bodies, there were still hundreds of offshore operators who were offering gambling services to Dutch users.
- Also, after getting blocked by bookies, players would only have to bear the loss of the money they had deposited in their names.
On 1st April 2021, the Netherlands revised its gambling status and became one of the biggest markets for gamblers in the European Union, with the adoption of the Dutch Remote Gambling Act. The legal market of gambling opened on 2nd October, 2021 providing the stage for both Dutch-based companies and foreign companies to offer their online gambling products.
Now, after the arrival of these changes, you can easily open an account on sites registered under the online gambling commission. Also, gamblers must find out whether the site is legal or not. Doing so helps the gambler to stay on the safe side and keep their data secure.
Taxes on Betting in the Netherlands
If you are a resident of the Netherlands, and have won an amount using Dutch betting sites, you will have to pay around 29% tax. However, the Dutch authorities do not tax any amount from foreign sites. This is why Dutch people often look for foreign places or sites to gamble, especially when they have the best chance of winning decent amounts.
