Dutch state lottery plots merger with Lotto
Deal would see combined business take aim at soon-to-be-regulated online gaming market
The Dutch National Lottery (Staatsloterij) and privately owned Lotto are planning to merge to create the country’s largest lottery business and a powerful player in a future online gaming market.
Officials have confirmed talks between the two parties are ongoing over a deal designed to produce significant cost savings, with both parties suffering from falling revenues in the lottery sector in recent years.
A combined entity would turnover more than 1.2bn a year and be capable of competing in the soon-to-be regulated Dutch online gaming market, an intention which both parties have individually spoken of.
The state-owned National Lottery confirmed in a statement that it wants to “compete for new licenses and to offer online gambling” once the market goes live as planned next year.
It added it wants to achieve “efficient operations and sustainable payment option to the State and, where possible, civil society”.
The Dutch Secretary of State plans to discuss country’s egaming bill this month and remains confident of a launch of a dot.nl licensing framework in early 2014.
Under current plans, licensed lotteries will be given the opportunity to apply for an egaming licence for online gambling, and to develop their own range of products to complement their current ones.
However, the lottery industry has been vociferous in its opposition to plans to introduce a licensing framework, claiming it will lose out to domestic and foreign egaming firms it not given a headstart to establish market share.
It claims regulating egaming would significantly cannibalise lottery sales and therefore payments to good causes, which include charities and sports clubs, would be reduced.