The Dutch Administrative Jurisdiction Division has granted de Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) the authority to operate as a monopoly. This decision was given to the Dutch lottery and gaming authority across three different rulings.
Private companies including Betfair and the Dutch Online Gambling Association (NOGA) had appealed against the monopoly. However, these were rejected, allowing the single-permit system to continue.
This single-permit system was previously challenged in 2018 too. The KSA was then able to supply reasons as to why this was actually a valid system.
This time, the KSA was called to defend why a single lottery license was issued to Lotto BV, the Dutch lottery operator, whilst charities could receive multiple lottery licences. They were able to successfully defend their current stance, and will be allowed to continue to operate in this way.
One defence that they gave here is that one of the goals of the Lotto is to encourage people to gamble through a single legal provider. Splitting up the market will obviously not help them achieve this.
If the market was split, there is a chance that none of the providers would be able to offer a substantial prize pool. This could then result in fewer players in the lottery system as a whole. In addition to this, there are some fundamental structural differences to the main lottery and charity lotteries that are worth maintaining.
