A Dutch cabinet member has poured cold water on plans to prohibit naughty international online gambling operators from applying for Dutch online licenses.

On July 13, Sander Dekker, the Netherlands’ Minister for Justice and Security, issued a formal response to the Dutch Senate’s second round of questions regarding the country’s Remote Gaming Bill. The bill, which was approved by parliament’s lower house in 2016, recently resurfaced in the Senate after a long period of inaction.

Dekker’s reply notes that the primary objective of the Bill is the ‘channelization’ of Dutch punters from their current patronage of internationally licensed gambling sites to sites holding new Dutch licenses. Only with an acceptable level of channelization can the government achieve its wider aims of consumer protection, minimizing gambling addiction and combating gambling-related crime.

Dekker (pictured) further notes that some Dutch pols believe that, once the Kansspelautoreit (KSA) gaming regulatory body issues its new licenses, Dutch punters will automatically switch to the approved operators. As such, these pols see no reason why international operators that have been previously sanctioned by the KSA should be eligible for a Dutch license.