The timeline for the possible privatisation of Holland Casino and Nederlandse Loterij will be delivered this summer, as discussions in the Netherlands’ Lower House’s Permanent Committee for Finance have added clarity to the situation.
Tjebbe van Oostenbruggen, State Secretary for Tax Affairs and the Tax Administration, informed the committee in November last year that he would provide an update about the potential privatisation of the two state-owned operations “around the summer of 2025”.
The possible privatisation of both Holland Casino and the Dutch Lottery in 2025 comes as the Netherlands’ regulated market increases its gambling tax from 30.5% to 34.2%, which will be followed by an additional increase to 37.8% in 2026.
Many industry stakeholders have expressed their thoughts on the tax increase, whether it be exiting the market completely, or emphasising their perspective that it will have a significant impact.
Within its H1 results back in August last year, Holland Casino anticipated the 7.3% increase in tax becoming a reality, noting at the time that they thought the increase was “irresponsible”.
CEO Petra de Ruiter said at the time: “Our total tax burden will then be almost 50%. This makes black figures impossible. We will then make a significant loss.
“Unlike supermarkets, we cannot pass on price increases properly. The only alternative is that we will take very undesirable measures such as aggressive campaigns to recruit new guests, encouraging people to spend much more or by significantly reducing the prize money.
“These measures are unacceptable for Holland Casino and irresponsible from the perspective of government policy on gambling. Moreover, the planned investments in our prevention policy will also come under pressure.”
Van Oostenbruggen told the Committee that Holland Casino’s statement was an awkward remark, that it wasn’t the operator’s intention to suggest an aggressive marketing strategy and that it would not be implemented.
However, Holland Casino also had to make difficult decisions to continue building a sustainable future. In October 2024, the operator announced the closure of Holland Casino Zandvoort. This was to help cope with rising costs, improve the company’s sustainability and ensure that it could continue investing in its preventive policies.
Further indication as to whether or not Holland Casino’s sustainable future involves it becoming privatised may be revealed this summer, but it’s already clear that 2025 will be a year of significant impact on the land-based casino industry in the Dutch market.
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