Dutch lotteries seek parity on charitable donations
Lottery operators cite threat from egaming firms and request new industry-wide donation of 40% of revenues
A trio of lotteries in the Netherlands has called on the government to introduce an industry-wide level of charitable donations to ensure a level playing field before the country opens its licensing framework for online gaming operators.
The Nationale Postcode Loterij, BankGiro Loterij and Vrienden Loterij have written to the Dutch State Secretary of Justice Fred Teeven requesting permission to reduce their contributions from 50% of revenue to 40%.
In addition, the operators asked that the Dutch State Lottery and De Lotto, which currently make charitable donations of just 16% and 18% respectively, be required to raise their contributions to 40%.
The three operators argue that by reducing their own donations they will be able to offer larger pay outs to customers, allowing them to be more competitive against other lotteries and potential new entrants to the market.
The move has been backed by European lottery operator Tipp24, which previously stated its interest in obtaining a lottery licence when the market regulates next year.
“It doesn’t affect us as much as we’ve stated our intention to contribute 40% of revenue in the past, but we completely endorse the Dutch lottery system,” Peter-Paul de Goeij, regional director at Tipp24, told eGaming Review this morning.
Discussions regarding a compulsory donation to charitable causes originally began last year when the first draft remote gambling act was drawn up, with this letter serving as a reminder one month after a revised version of the bill was submitted to the European Commission.