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Bright days ahead for Holland Casino and the Dutch iGaming Market

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Holland Casino creates a future-proof strategy to fight off revenue loss. The iGaming market is off to a promising start.


The global pandemic hit many regions with severe losses due to forced closures and restrictions.

In the Netherlands industry leaders such as Holland Casino suffered from losses of as much as €80.7 million

.

With land-based casinos experiencing dramatic losses too, there is more focus on the up and coming iGaming market.

Holland Casino’s pandemic pandemonium

The pandemic has many land-based casinos in a flat spin with restrictions leading to millions in revenue losses.

For Holland Casino's 14 properties, 2020's restrictions led to a decline in visitation and revenue.

According to the stats, visitation has dropped by 60% with just 2.5 million visits in total. Meaning there was a cut of 54% in the annual profit which came in at €333 million.

While Holland Casino continues to invest in its future and strive for better days, there is no arguing that 2020 was one of the toughest years yet. Holland Casino CEO, Erwin Lambaart, is confident that despite the challenging circumstances they will continue to thrive in the years ahead.

Lambaart states that it is the resilience of the people, the support from the government, and the focus on strategy and cost control that will pave the way forward.

Lambaart praises the hard work and dedication of the employees who work tirelessly behind the scenes to implement the new and frequent changes as per government requirements. Like many others, Holland Casino had to restructure by the end of 2020 if it hoped to survive the pandemic. Some changes have not been pleasant but to date, Holland Casino has managed to keep on more than 90% of its staff.

It’s a wonder that despite forced closure of over 143 days and 151 days of being open with restrictions the casino is still keeping its head above water. Especially considering that expenses continue to roll in during times of closure despite lack of income.

Despite the struggles and closures, Holland Casino remains optimistic about the future. The restructuring takes place to ensure that the organization is able to function more efficiently in the days to come. According to Lambaart, the new structure is future-proof, guaranteeing continuity.

New hope with the opening of the online market

The new Netherlands iGaming market is already the talk of the town with operators jumping at the opportunity to serve locals.

The Dutch gambling regulator, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), launched the licensing process earlier in April 2021. This was shortly after the new national Remote Gambling Act came into effect on 1 April.

The market is set to launch on the 1st of October 2021 and already there are 28 applicants waiting for approval. The KSA revealed that all applicants have provided the necessary documentation and fees. There is a required fee of €48,000 (£41,578/$57,787) operators need to pay as part of the submission.

All successful applicants will get the opportunity to launch their online sites with online games to residents when the market opens in October. For now, the KSA needs to access all applicants to see who meets the requirements.

Among the many checks will be an assessment on whether or not the operators have an adequate gambling addiction prevention policy in place along with other responsible gambling measures.

According to René Jansen, chairman of the board of the KSA, the number of applicants is already a good sign. Jansen reveals their intention is to shift player focus from illegal providers to more legally reliable providers. And with the impressive number of applicants, Jansen is confident this will be a possibility when the market launches on 1 October 2021.

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