Operators Betca BV and Novamedia have received licences to offer online gaming in the Netherlands, joining the small list of permitted operators in the country.
Both licences were awarded yesterday (8 March).
It is not yet known which domains the two operators will offer online games under.
The operators are the 13th and 14th to be given online gaming licences by Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), joining recent recipients Zebet, Casino de Spa and JOI Gaming, as well as 10 initial licensees.
The Netherlands was initially set to open its online gaming market on 1 October, six months after the Remote Gambling Act (KOA) came into effect. However, a technical fault with the country’s self-exclusion system Cruks meant that the launch was delayed by until October 4.
The act was first set to come into force on 1 July 2020, with the market opening six months later on 1 January 2021, but was delayed a number of times.
Days before the launch, 10 operators were issued online gaming licences by the KSA.
The licensees included Bet365, Tombola, Play North Ltd, Holland Casino NV and state lottery Nederlandse Loterij.
Just before the act came into effect, the KSA had estimated that it would receive 40 licence applications, but it later announced in April that it had received 28.
All applicants paid an application fee of €48,000.
