Report SPORTS BETTING - PART 2
In 2013 the combined turnover of the two licensees for sports betting was €77m divided between €53.7m (De Lotto/toto) and €23.1m (Sportech- Runnerz) compared to €45m and €25m in 2012 respectively.
Runnerz sells half of its tickets through physical betting shops and has 56 locations in Netherlands.
The six gaming monopolies in the country are monitored by the Kansspelautoriteit (gambling authority) which was established in 2012 as an independent administrative body. The sports sector is governed by regulations in the Gambling Act.
The sports betting monopoly is run by De Lotto with the brands Lotto, Toto, Lucky Day, Krasloten (Scatch Cards) and Euro Lotto Jackpots. It donates to the fields of sports and culture, social welfare and health.
The Lotto is held every Saturday with jackpots as high at €7.5m. Lucky Day is a unique lottery that players can play every day except Sundays.
Bets can be placed on sporting events in shops and via the Toto website. The market is quite restricted with betting available on football, hockey, cycling, formula one, basketball, baseball and tennis. The most popular sport is football followed by hockey.
However despite the strict restrictions in place for foreign bookmakers there are a few that offer their services to Dutch customers including William Hill, Coral, Stan James, Bwin, Betsson, 10Bet, MarathonBet, Expekt and Betfair. Bet365 does not accept sign ups from the Netheralands.
ONLINE
Online gambling is at the moment not permitted in the Netherlands although there is currently a draft law in place (KOA) which was presented in July 2014 and the proposed amendments are expected to replace the existing Gaming Act of 1964.
The gambling policy means the sector will be modernised in three areas and is based around the Danish Gambling Authority’s online bill. Firstly, online gambling will be regulated from 2015, secondly the lottery and casino markets will be reformed and Holland Casino will be privatised in 2017 and thirdly more profits will go to charity.
Many Dutch participate in illegal online gambling via foreign websites and it is estimated that around one million Dutch already gamble online.
From 2015 it will be possible to obtain an online gambling licence and it is expected that the first licences will be issued by the second quarter of 2015 although many suggest this may be delayed 2016 even.
It will include licence options, fees and fiscal obligations plus technical and security requirements of licence holders.
Paul Klomp, Managing Director of Sportech Racing BV said: “The market will probably not open up before 2016 and even 2016 is a big question mark. Currently the proposal is in parliament and the political environment (the state secretary resigned and is now replaced) does not speed up this process. Runnerz will be able to sell its bets online and the growth potential is huge.”
The online gambling market in the Netherlands is estimated to have a GGR of around €140-800m versus the land based market of around €500m. It is thought there were some 565,000 online gambling users in 2011.
The online gambling market in
the Netherlands is estimated to have a GGR of around €140- 800m versus the land based
market of around €500m. It is thought there were some
565,000 online gambling users in 2011.
Illegal operators can receive a fine of up to €780,000 via the Dutch Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) and the government is working to combat illegal gambling by blocking advertising. The Gaming Authority made a deal with social network sites Hyves and Facebook to remove illegal advertising if notified whilst payment service providers have also been approached. The aim is to block any websites ending in .com, or websites in Dutch language or those who advertise in the media focusing on the Dutch market.
When online gambling first arrived in Europe it provided a problem for such a regulated country who initially tried to pass a law to stop the banks handling non Dutch online gaming companies. This didn’t work despite the initial approach by the Dutch regulator to keep international companies out.
From December 1st 2014 companies interested in a remote gambling licences could apply via a KOA form and by the end of 2014 some 130 applications were received in just three weeks and 200 in three months.
The new law will replace a 50 year old law which was very archaic and prohibits any online gambling without a licence. The draft law states:
l A 20 per cent gaming tax rate
l The set up of gambling addiction programmes with a 0.5 percent contribution to fund these.
l 1.5 percent contribution to the Gaming Authority on gross game result.
l Plus a contribution to Dutch sports and chari- ties is also possible.
l To ensure Dutch players use regulated sites they will be taxed on winnings at the rate of 29 percent on unregulated sites.
l No restriction on the number of remote gam- bling licences
l A licence fee of €40,000 will have to be paid.
l Licensees do not need to be Dutch but licences will only be granted to an entity having the legal form of a public limited company or private limited company of another EU or EEA member state.
l Each player must register a player profile and could include frequency and duration of partici- pation, maximum deposits placed on the account and maximum balance on the account.
The new legislation will open the market but clamp down on those using unlicensed websites. It is thought there will be two types of licences granted for five years and permit casino games, slots, fixed odd sports betting, pokers, sports betting (betting exchange), pari-mutuel betting and live betting on sports betting (this may require stricter regulation). It will not permit online betting for spread betting and special betting and the state run lottery will remain under government control for the time being.
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NETHERLANDS SPORTS BETTING NO. OF BETTING SHOPS: 56 (RUNNERZ) MARKET SHARE (GGR): 1% NON REMOTE OPERATORS: 2 (SPORTECH AND DE LOTTO) SPORTS BETTING TURNOVER: €53.7M (DE LOTTO) €23.1M (SPORTECH) HORSE TRACKS: 4 (90 RACE DAY PER YEAR) ONLINE MARKET: KOA 2015 REMOTE BETTING GGR: N/A REMOTE LICENCES: UNLIMITED LICENSING: KANSSPELAUTORITE
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