After months of postponing and uncertainty, online casinos are finally coming to the Netherlands. The Dutch Remote Gambling act was made public in May, and ever since then, Dutch casino enthusiasts are anxiously waiting to be able to finally play online casino games on regulated platforms.
The authority behind the Remote Gambling act is the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), which regulates all casino activity in the Netherlands since 2012 and is doing a very good job at keeping both casino providers and gamblers satisfied with the way the market is evolving in the country.
After the act came into effect, more than 40 gambling providers were expected to apply for a license to open an online casino platform in the Netherlands, meaning Dutch players will soon have plenty of options to choose from. Licensed online casinos will launch their platforms this fall, so casino enthusiasts will have to wait some more until they can finally open an account with a regulated Dutch online casino.
Just because there were no regulated online casinos in the country, it does not mean Dutch players did not take advantage of what the internet has to offer by playing at casinos located outside the country. A recent survey shows that 38% of Dutch gamblers enjoy playing roulette, followed by blackjack with 31%, and slot games with 25%.
Despite the fact that so many of us enjoy playing casino games, not many take the time to get to know the industry. Luckily, with a few months to pass until you will be able to play regulated casino games on a Dutch platform, you have plenty of time to learn the insights. This is what we are here to talk about today with this list of interesting facts very few people know about the casino market. So, let us begin!
Online casinos exist since the ‘90s
While the internet has only started buzzing about online casinos in the past decade, it does not mean they did not exist until now. In fact, online casinos have been around for almost as long as the internet exists, so they are not a novelty at all.
The world wide web was launched officially in 1991 and is has forever changed our lives. Shortly after, in 1994, the first online casino appeared. It was called The Gambling Club and was nothing like we see online casinos being now. The graphics were low, the internet was slow, bonuses did not exist, and the overall experience was nowhere near as comfortable as it is now. Still, avid casino players that were fortunate enough to have an internet connection were enjoying the opportunity to play casino games from the comfort of their own home.
Now, things have evolved tremendously thanks to technology, with people being able to choose from millions of games with impressive graphics, enjoy huge bonuses, and, starting this fall, pay in casinos with Dutch popular payment method of their choice.
In some states, you can’t own a slot machine
Slot games are very popular all around the globe, but if you are planning to buy yourself a slot machine, you need to check with the country regulations. While most European countries, Spain and the Netherlands included, allow citizens to own slot machines as long as they are not using these devices to make profits, some Americans are not as lucky.
Many American states, including Connecticut, Hawaii, and Tennessee, prohibit purchasing slot machines for personal use precisely to prevent illegal gambling. Sometimes, not even collectors are allowed to purchase or own these devices. Oregon, Oklahoma, California, and a few other states are more permissive and allow people to own slot machines only for personal use and only if the machine itself is older than 25 years.
Men gamble more frequently than women
Gambling is a very popular form of entertainment around the globe. A bit over 11% of people with internet access state they access gambling platforms on a regular basis, and 80% of them are, unsurprisingly, men. Don’t get us wrong, there are plenty of women that can take your money fair and square at the poker table, but when it comes to frequency, men seem to spend more time on gambling platforms than women.
The reason for this may have to do with player habits. Female players tend to be a bit more cautious with their gambling activities, so they end up spending less time on these platforms. They also seem to place smaller bets and leave the table much sooner than male players, usually when they are still on a winning trajectory. They also seem to hunt for casino aanbieding more, which gives them even more money to play with.
The house has an edge, but they also want you to win
Online casinos are very lucrative businesses, and to be so, the house needs to have a bit of an edge against players. Fortunately, this only happens with specific games and the odds are not fully turned in the house’s favor.
One example of a game where the house has an edge is roulette. There are 38 slots on a roulette wheel, and two of them belong to the house. The remaining 36 are equally split into red and black numbers, and the players are allowed to place bets on them. This gives casinos an edge and keeps things interesting for players.
Put simply, the house having an edge means there is a possibility that you will, eventually, lose all your money over a specific period of time while playing casino games. The bigger the house edge, the sooner this is bound to happen. Let’s say you are playing a slot game, and you bet $5 on each spin. In 600 spins, this means you have put $3,000 into the game. If the house has a 3% edge, it means that no matter what you do, you are bound to lose at least $90 to the house. This is an example of a small house edge.