No gambling please... we're Dutch
But help yourselves to hash and whores
THE DUTCH PARLIAMENT yesterday displayed that when it comes to double standards, they know the name of the game. And it isn’t gambling.
On Tuesday a bill that would have allowed gaming operator Holland Casino to open a gambling web site on a trial basis was quashed in a tight 35-37 vote by Holland’s upper house, even after the lower house (probably mellowed out on marijuana) passed the bill in 2006.
If the bill had passed, Holland’s gamblers would have been able to bet legally at the Holland Casino website as opposed to their current practice of illegally doing so at other gaming sites based elsewhere.
Europe has been too-ing and fro-ing over the phenomenon of online betting for a while now, with some countries like the UK opening itself up almost completely to electronic gambling, whilst conservative Euro stick-in-the-muds Germany, France and now, surprisingly, Holland, loath to follow Britain’s example, saying that they are worried about the detrimental effects of gambling addictions, but probably more worried that their own state betting monopolies would lose money.
According to Merrill Lynch, gross gaming revenues for online betting could reach $48 billion by 2010, making it an extremely lucrative business indeed.
The Dutch refusal to legalise online gaming smacks (shmaksh) of sanctimoniousness, seeing as the country is well known for its tolerance of soft drugs and its reliance on sex tourism. Spliff-smoking citizens and tourists are allowed to rent prostitutes directly out of street windows to keep Amsterdam’s economy booming, but online gaming is immoral and detrimental to a person’s wellbeing.
Sounds like double Dutch standards. µ
L’Inq
Reuters
Comments
murder
Outrageous double dutch standards indeed, prostitution and marijuana are legal, but murder still illegal.I imagine that the same logic, or lack thereof, used by the author applies to the above, i.e. All are illegal in most countries, except in the Netherlands where only the last one is.
double standands?
In Prime Ministers Questions I heard Bliar try to justify Super Casinos with the "If these people want to gamble. they will find a way to do so anyway". In the same 30 minutes he also slagged of a liberal democrat who mentioned the inconsistency of our cannabis laws.I would much prefer the Dutch Double Standards than the ones that we are meant to swallow in Britain and America.
The Dutch are right
I don't understand the mocking tone of this article - I think the very last thing people need is more temptation to gamble, whereas their attitude to soft drugs seems to work well.What's new
You are right in your suspicions, the dutch leaders, bot national and local are completely corrupt and bought and sold, and I think you'll find that reflected in international lists created by independent groups.It's all about monopolies and money changing hands and self-interest, not interests of the country but of individuals and small pathetic groups.
And strangely enough the dutch people don't seem to want to know.
It's still impressive when it gets THIS obvious though and they get away with it.
One good reason
If online gambling were banned, at least we wouldn't have to put up with all the stupid television advertisements for poker, bingo and casino sites. That's one good reason for banning them, in my book.The stupid ringtone, mobile bling and SMS "competitions" stuff would be next in line. Perhaps along with all the telephone number "provider" advertisers.
No research please... we're not Dutch
"Spliff-smoking citizens and tourists are allowed to rent prostitutes directly out of street windows to keep Amsterdam’s economy booming" ...When will people start doing a little research before going on about Holland? [and no, I'm not Dutch]. Since allowing soft drugs, drug-related crime has decreased by huge amounts, and has become much less a problem than in countries where they try - and FAIL - to stop it.
As to the prostitution, OTHER EU countries have LEGAL PROSTITUTION TOO! Belgium, for example, allows window-shopping for prostitutes.
Bra-vo
~slow clap~ on the " . . . double dutch standards . . . " My day just was not complete.Not really!
I'm dutch and I have to fix something here.First of all soft drugs is NOT legal, it's "allowed" for personal use. You can still end up in jail for smoking it or having it with you. But why waste time and money on peoples who sell and smoke weed? That's not a crime!
The money is used on real crimes, and with success.
Prostitution is the same thing, why forbid it? You waste time and money going after something you can't stop anyway. So you can better regulate it, and tax it too! It's found everywhere in the world, in both legal and illegal forms. So where's the problem?
You can not forbid something that's human nature!
We're taught that some things are bad and forbidden, but we often don't know why it's forbidden or illegal. In fact many laws and rules don't work.
Oh by the way, no one can give me one simple reason why Alcohol is legal and cannabis not. Every year many peoples die in traffic or other alcohol related causes.
fierce and loafing in las vegas
I'm not a gambler myself, but in and of itself I see no issue with folks being allowed to do it. I've played poker and made ridiculous gambles, some paid off big some didn't - but I did so because it wasn't real, it was on XBox360 games and I didn't actually spend anything on the bets.I've watched live roulette many a time, and even guessed correctly way above the average whereabouts the ball would fall - buuuut I'm not going to lay money on it, unless it's money I know I can afford to throw away if in the event I lost.
Red light districts - been through plenty of them, never felt compelled to part with any cash or get addicted to porn. But then I find most fake-sex-scenes in films/tv to be crap anyway; does nothing for me.
Coffeeshops - been to loads of those and loved just about every one of them. They are nice places, people are genuine and/or mind their own business, there's no wierd evil-eye vibes like most other places you go have, and that's just down the normal shops for example.
In fact they reminded me of light and airier versions of a good pub.
The UK is weird for gambling then - online is fine, bookies are fine, track races are fine, casinos are fine, fruit machines are fine, oh but - super-casinos are bad.
I think I'll put a few lines on, if anyone's got odds on when-if super-casinos will be allowed here.
Uhhhh.... riiiiiighhhhtttt....
I know the author had to refer to double standards in order to crowbar in the solid gold pun on "double Dutch standards", but it simply isn't double standards.Firstly because prostitution, soft drugs and gambling are all very different to each other. For it to be double standards, they would have to be very, very similar.
And besides, Amsterdam is a little liberal enclave in a generally conservative country.
Don't know whether true I have heard that the drugs policy is increasingly coming under fire, partly because of the few drug-addled locals, but mainly because of all the vomiting tourists it attracts. (Even if they do spend money.)
Gambling's a shambling!
Thou'll shant nor wæger !! !t says so in the potpourri verses, plain as day. "æ" is a dipthong to bemused on pants!God save the Guys some ƒ'ing guilders!
The boys will no doubt need them when beknackering the blooming tulips! Whych I'll wager they've been around the windmill a time or two. They don't call them Dutch Masters for nutting.
And dearest Prurient, how is your hand game in "Head and Tail," "Two-up," "Texas-hold'em," "Up your Ante,",.. need I go higher?
Gambling no doubt leads to snooker, and that's plain dirty pool! Get a cluedo! Billairds leads to Bliaritities sleeping with Tories in labor; and dogs in cat houses doing peyote! Oh the fawkes hunts! suffer the little dice to come unto me! and that's the naughts and crosses of it. Great expectations of ill-guilded gains.
BTW, is there a craps-easy about? Nature has summoned me old addiction.
SM replies: wibble
Re: You can not forbid something that's human nature
So the pedophiles should be left alone then ? And the rapists and the serial killers. No ? Why not ? It's in their nature.I'm not dutch, and I'm not totally against legalizing weed for the simple reason that a lot of the shady side of the business will go away if you can buy some in supermarkets. I do see how that can clean things up a bit.
But then you have bots like karlsbad-alias-t. von drashek who apparently are Dutch and smoke all day long when they're not keying gibberish under various handles, and that quite definitely makes me believe that everyone who smokes weed should be locked up.
Okay, I'd settle for being forbidden to have Internet access.
In any case, Mr. Drashek, if you want to comment under various names, it would be a good thing to change your writing style as well, because as it stands, you are waaaayy too recognizable.
And incomprehensible, but that is your trademark so I will not dispute it.
Double Standards
i think the author was commenting on the fact that they still have a legal lottery, possibly some actual casino's that are state owned that are still accessible but not privatized but they say that its bad for the population. I saw that double-standard when I was 7. Then again its that way almost everywhere you go. Casinos on water but not land, or reservations, Deathstars but not hot air balloons. Maybe we're all just too use to that to see it anymore. It got a little confusing after she had to add her own opinion on what else the gov'ment should be taking care of.