Three exclusive licences have been handed over to Lotto B.V. by the Dutch Gambling Commission (KSA), each with a five-year deadline.
Lotto B.V., which in 2016 merged with Staatsloterij to create state-owned holding company Nederlandse Loterij while retaining its standalone operations, offers lottery games, scratch cards and land-based sports betting – which all three licences relate to.
There is, however, a chance that these licences will be put under review in the future, all because of an appeal in a domestic court case currently being processed by the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State.
The case revolves around the competitive fairness of the Dutch gambling monopoly, which adds on to mounting political pressure to either privatise or completely abolish both the Holland Casino (land-based casino) and Nederlandse Loterij state enterprises and end the government’s involvement in gambling.
We’ve already seen a European government shedding of gambling assets recently, as was the case with Sweden and the liquidation of its brick-and-mortar Casino Cosmopol empire.
Back to the Dutch court case, the KSA was previously in favour of waiting for a final court decision on the monopoly’s sustainability, but eventually decided to go through with the licensing due to the approaching deadline of the current permits – in the interest of the legal offers being continuously without interruptions.
Still, there are multiple options of what to do with the licences once a decision has been produced by the court. If a licensing regime is introduced for land-based sports betting, lotteries and scratch games, Lotto BV’s exclusive licence could be revoked.
There’s also the possibility of Lotto BV maintaining the five-year licences, just without the exclusive element to them.
Similarly, if the state monopoly is abolished and Lotto BV becomes a private entity somewhere down the line, this would also require a licence review by the Dutch gambling office.
If required, amendments to Lotto BV’s licence status will occur not earlier than one year after the Council of State’s ruling.