Websites and telephone gambling services run by international gambling companies should not be accessible to Dutch gamblers, because the ban does not break EU rules on the free movement of goods and services, according to a High Court ruling.

The ruling, handed down on Friday, is the latest in a long battle between gambling firms and the Dutch government, which wants to keep operators such as Ladbrokes and Betfair off the Dutch market.
The ruling requires site operators to install monitoring software so they can ensure no-one in the Netherlands takes part. Banks and credit card companies which help Dutch gamblers to break the rules can also face prosecution.
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The High Court consulted the European Court of Justice before reaching its decision.
In that ruling, reached in 2010, the court said the Netherlands is within its rights to ban internet gambling if the Dutch courts are satisfied the aim of the ban is to reduce crime and to discourage people from gambling.
According to internet lobby group Bits of Freedom, the court ruling puts the responsibility for checking where gamblers are with the gambling company, and does not require internet service providers to block access.
‘That means providers do not have to control their subscribers’ internet usage,’ a spokesman told the Financieele Dagblad.