Dutch Gaming Authority ordered to explain lottery decision

The Council of State in the Netherlands has ordered the nation’s iGaming authority to explain why it has awarded Lotto BV the exclusive rights for “sport prize questions and instant lotteries.”

Kansspelautoriteit, the Dutch Gaming Authority, had provoked the anger of other gambling operators such as Betclic, Betfair, Unibet and the European Gaming & Betting Association when it granted a complete monopoly to Lotto BV.

The aggrieved parties brought a case against the Dutch Gaming Authority, and the Netherlands Council of State responded by urging the former to explain its own side of the story. The Council tasked the gaming authority to “provide greater guidance and transparency on the motivations for the operator’s monopoly over lotteries.”

The complainants who appealed against the gaming authority based their case on the European Union law which empowers all gambling operators to do business in all European member states. To this extent, the state council agrees that the Dutch Gaming Authority has erred in giving the sole license for lottery to Lotto BV.

According to the council, lottos and charity lotteries have almost the same level of addiction risks. Yet the gaming authority awarded six licenses for charity lottery and only one license for lotto. The regulator is now being tasked with explaining why this is so.

“We will take new decisions regarding the licensing of Lotto BV for offering lotto’s and the objections against it,” Kansspelautoriteit responded on its website.

“These are motivated with due regard for the statements of the Council of State.”

Maarten Haijer, secretary general of the EGBA, praised the Council of State for questioning the rights of the Dutch Gaming Authority to “grant a monopoly for lotto products.”

He added the development “underlines the fundamental importance of transparent licensing procedures” as well as the need for a better regulation of the Dutch online gambling market together with appropriate laws.