The Government has made clear which direction its policy regarding copyright infringements on the Internet is going to take. Downloading from illegal sources will be prohibited. In principle, consumers will not be targeted, but commercial internet intermediaries will. This announcement still has to be converted into a bill and enacted into law. [Read more…] about Dutch government wants to prohibit downloading from illegal sources and targets commercial internet intermediaries
Archives for April 2011
Foreign Games of Chance Provider Wins At Last
A lot is going on in the world of games of chance in the Netherlands at the moment. After State Secretary Teeven of Security and Justice had announced his plan for a more liberal games of chance policy on 19 March, the Administrative Law Judicial Division of the Council of State (the highest administrative court) rendered a long-expected ruling in the Betfair case on 21 March. In this ruling the Council of State rapped former Justice Minister Donner on the knuckles for the way in which he had granted licenses for the organizing of sports and horse racing bets.
Under the Act on Games of Chance (Wet op de Kansspelen, “WoK”), the Netherlands have a restrictive games of chance policy, in principle only allowing the organization of games of chance with a government license. Organizing games of chance through the internet is prohibited altogether at present, and licenses for sports and horseracing bets can only [Read more…] about Foreign Games of Chance Provider Wins At Last
Policy View Teeven: Dutch Games of Chance Market Finally Opens Up
State Secretary Fred Teeven of Security and Justice has announced that there are plans to liberalize the Dutch market for games of chance. Teeven wants to modernize the games of chance policy and to fight gambling addiction, fraud and crime more effectively by widening and expanding the legal offer of games of chance.
The restrictive Dutch games of chance policy, which gives a limited number of operators like Holland Casino and De Lotto a permanent monopoly based on a government license, has been severely criticized in the past years by the European Commission and foreign (online) providers of games of chance, among others. With its Betfair and Ladbrokes rulings of last year, the European Court of Justice still backed up the then Minister of Justice Hirsch Ballin to maintain this policy.
However, the current government has chosen to steer a different course, the omens of which [Read more…] about Policy View Teeven: Dutch Games of Chance Market Finally Opens Up