 Dutch Parliament
Vote Against Online
Gambling Bill
(Reuters) - The
upper house of the
Dutch parliament
defeated a bill that
would have allowed
monopoly casino
operator Holland
Casino to open a
gambling Web site on
a trial basis.
The bill was
defeated in a narrow
35-37 vote on
Tuesday, the
Senate's Web site
said. The lower
house of the Dutch
parliament had
approved the bill in
2006.
PartyGaming, Bwin
and Sportingbet
could have suffered
if the plans had
been approved as
Dutch gamblers would
have been able to
bet legally with
Holland Casino as
opposed to going to
the other firms' Web
sites based
elsewhere.
Europe is grappling
with Internet
betting. While
countries like
Britain have opened
up to almost every
kind of online
gambling, Germany
and France have been
reluctant to follow
suit, concerned by
gambling addiction
and that state
betting monopolies
would see their
revenues destroyed.
In February, the
European Commission
gave Greece and the
Netherlands a final
warning before court
action over
restrictions in
their gaming markets
in a push by
Brussels to boost
competition.
(Additional
reporting by Marc
Jones in London;
Editing by Quentin
Bryar)
----
Originally published
April 2, 2008 9:41
am EST
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