In terms of the actual act of getting sites online and ready to take customers’ bets, the launch of the Dutch online market was a bit of a mess.
A technical hitch with self-exclusion scheme Cruks meant that sites were not permitted to launch on 1 October as expected, going live a day later instead. This, of course, followed a number of other delays for a variety of reasons.
But if we’re talking about the general performance in the months after opening up, the Dutch market looks to have been a success.
The country exceeded its three-year channelisation target within year one. Figures released [Friday] by regulator de Kansspelautoriteit – one day before the first anniversary of that launch – reveal that 85% of Dutch players are gambling within the licensed market.