Dutch regulator opens lottery market to Lottovate

Zeal Network’s Lottovate brand has been granted a charity lottery licence by the Netherlands Gaming Authority (Kansspelautoriteit), as the market begins to open up to non-incumbents.

As first reported by Gaming in Holland, Lottovate’s licence went live yesterday and will run until 31 December 2016, when the market’s new licensing procedure will open up beyond its current limitations.

The award of Lottovate’s licence follows a ruling by the Court of Amsterdam in May which said there was just no justification for limiting the amount of charity lottery licences to four, which are currently held by Postcode Loterij, Nationale Postcodeloterij, BankGiro Loterij and VriendenLoterij.

Lottovate, a brand operated by UK-headquartered company Zeal Network, had previously been prevented from obtaining a licence in 2014 by the Dutch regulator as a result of the restrictions.

“Additional lottery licenses are great news for charities and sports in the Netherlands, as these will benefit from the added lottery contributions that will be provided by the new licensees,”Peter-Paul de Goeij, managing director at Lottovate Netherlands, said.

“Consumers should be thrilled as well, since they will have a larger range of lottery options to choose from,”he added.

All charity lottery licensees will be required to contribute 50% of stakes from games of chance to charitable causes, which will be monitored by Kansspelautoriteit.

Find out about the lottery licensing process and more at next week’s EGR/Gaming in Holland Breakfast Briefing in Amsterdam on 1 December

Panellist’s include de Goeij of Lottovate Netherlands and Marja Appelman, CEO of the Netherlands Gaming Authority