Dutch gambling politics have taken a route that many feel will be mirrored by the United States. Lawmakers in the Netherlands have recently taken steps toward legalized online poker, but are keeping online casinos, such as jackpot casino, illegal. Sportsbooks will also remain illegal, although here the reason is obvious. Sports betting the Netherlands is already handled by a stated owned operator called DeLotto. Since this generates a fair amount of revenue for

the government they will be able to keep their monopoly. This move was made, essentially, because it had become too difficult to maintain the ban. Online poker has continued to be popular in the Netherlands, despite the ban, and the Dutch government decided that if people are going to play anyway, then the casinos should at least be licensed and regulated. Many have argued that this exact some rationale could be applied just as easily to online casinos, and this sort of half measure doesn’t make sense. The argument continues that countries like Denmark have taken this further step and are now reaping the benefits. Several online casino operators have joined in the effort to push through the addition of online casinos to what will be legalized. Though the reasons for sports betting being omitted are clear, the omission of casinos is somewhat more hazy. This could give those in favor of online casinos the window they need to open up the market.