The Netherlands’ land-based casino market continued to grow in 2015, creating the right elements for the privatization of the Holland Casino monopoly.
Figures released Friday by the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) regulatory agency show Holland Casino generated revenue of €244m from table games in 2015, 8% higher than the previous year. Slots revenue was €294m, up 13% from 2014.
Holland Casino operates 14 gaming venues, which contain 370 gaming tables and around 4,500 slots. Around 93% of the Dutch population is within one hour’s travel from a Holland Casino location, and 20% are less than 15 minutes away.
Holland Casino just announced that it will open a new casino in Amsterdam West in 2017. The new venue, which is close to the Sloterdijk railway station, will be part of a complex called Ven that will include a hotel, restaurants, bars and a fitness center. Ven’s opening will result in the closure of the Holland Casino gaming venue at Amsterdam’s Schiphzl Airport, which opened in 1995.
The Dutch government announced plans to privatize Holland Casino way back in 2012 but these plans were complicated by the fact that the company was continually posting annual losses. The company finally returned to profit in 2014 and the government duly resumed its privatization push.
Two weeks ago, Dutch media reported that the government had hired Dutch financial services corporation ING to assist in the search for a deep-pocketed casino buyer. Estimates of how much the government could reap via the privatization range from €650m to over €1b.
The overall Dutch land-based gaming market generated revenue of €2.34b in 2015, up 4.7% from 2014. According to H2 Gambling Capital stats, the Dutch are not huge gamblers, with per capita gambling spend of €163, below the European Union average of €200. Ireland ranked tops in the EU at €432, while Poland brought up the rear with just €23.
