Non-Dutch Europeans in the Netherlands who want to buy tickets for next year’s Olympic Games in London will have to pay by Visa card because the Dutch ticket allocation is only for Dutch nationals, the Volkskrant reports on Wednesday.

Booking for the 2012 games opened on Tuesday but tickets will be allocated according to a lottery system.
English website London2012.com offers all EU nationals the opportunity to buy a ticket – if they own a Visa card. Visa is a sponsor of the event and has been given exclusive rights to sell.
The Dutch selling agent – ATP Event Experts – is only allowed to sell cards to Dutch nationals, and will charge them a 23.8% booking fee on top of the price of a ticket.
Non-Europeans have to buy tickets through their local country agency.
In total, nine million tickets are up for sales, with prices ranging from €2,535 for a good seat at the opening ceremony to around €23 for minor events. It is not clear how many tickets have been allocated to the Netherlands.