Over the past year and a half, the Netherlands government has significantly increased its efforts to stop online gambling within the country. This has been bad news for avid online poker players, making it more and more difficult for them to log on and fund their real-money online poker accounts.

However, online poker players living in the Netherlands still have the ability to play online poker, and by carefully looking at their options they will be able to find a site and a deposit option that will work well for them.

Legal Netherlands Poker Sites

The Netherlands governments initiative to stop online gaming is an attempt to curb gambling addictions within the country. However, the Dutch government is at the same time actively increasing spending on advertisements for state-run gaming and casinos. Thus, the government is basically attempting to monopolize gaming within the country, and control all revenues from casinos and online gambling.

While the government of the Netherlands supports several brick-and-mortar casinos that are state-run, they are not very active in supporting online gaming. There is currently only one online casino authorized by the government to operate in the Netherlands. The state-owned Holland Casino currently holds the exclusive rights to provide online poker to Dutch citizens. Foreign operators of both online and brick-and-mortar casinos trying to build in the Netherlands have been denied licenses by the government. Thus, the Netherlands government holds a strict monopoly on all online gaming within the country.

Online poker players wishing to play online on the Holland Casinos Web site have a variety of different deposit options to get their bankroll started. Because the Dutch government runs the site, they hold exclusive rights to deposit options and payout methods. While this may limit the amount of online poker deposit options for online poker players in the Netherlands, the fact that the site is government-sponsored adds a sense of security for the transfer of funds online.

Deposit Options At Netherlands Poker Sites

Credit cards are the most popular form of online funds deposits, offering the ability to instantly fund your real-money online poker account. However, many credit card companies and banks will not allow the deposit of funds onto an online gaming site, even though the site is controlled by the Dutch government.

Also, some credit card companies will treat a cash deposit to an online gaming site as a cash advance on your credit card. Thus, you might be facing hefty fees and penalties as a result of making a deposit online from your credit card. Always be sure to contact your bank or credit card company prior to making a deposit to ensure that you will not be hit with unnecessary fees and penalties.

Neteller is a great alternative to making deposits directly from a credit card. Neteller is a third-party payment processor that allows you to fund an online account from your bank account or credit card. After funding your Neteller account, you can then instantly transfer funds to the Holland Casino online poker site. This method is far more cost-effective and safe for online poker players than funding by credit card.