Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Netherlands gambling regulator, stated the temporary leniency it extended towards online bingo during COVID-19 lockdown will end on 1 July. 

Online bingo operators who didn’t have a license were still able to operate with KSA permission, as long as their games were seen as a social activity and not for profit. The new rule came into effect on 1 May, and KSA stated it “understands that in these times there are initiatives to provide a fun pastime for people, and make them feel as if they are out of isolation without having to leave their own home.” 

Normally, only land-based casinos with a license are allowed to host bingo games. But “in view of the special circumstances, the KSA has decided to temporarily be lenient in these cases.”  

The online bingo games were meant as a form of social activity. 

However, the regulations will be back to normal at the start of July. The reasoning behind the decision is the easing of the lockdown in the Netherlands where isolation is no longer mandatory. 

Despite the offered leniency, the regulators had to intervene several times when the games where being organised for commercial purposes. 

Licensed online bingo remains prohibited in the country until next year when the Remote Gaming Act will legalise online gambling, expected to go live in July 2021.