As part of the reforms promised by the Dutch coalition government, the Netherlands plans to offer its country-owned Holland Casino monopoly to the worldwide market and then legalize online gambling with hopes of increased competition, interest, and, of course, revenue.
While the plan to sell is set, how the government will approach the sale is not. “It is unclear at this stage if it will be a sale or an initial public offering. The government hasn’t decided how the sale will take place,” Justin Franssen, a lawyer at VMW Taxand who specialises in the gaming sector said in a recent Reuters article.
According to Wikipedia, Holland Casino is “the” source of gambling in the Netherlands as it has a legal monopoly on casino games there. With 14 casinos throughout the country, all funds generated by Holland Casino go straight to the Dutch treasury. Lately, however, those profits have been slim, with one million annual visitors generating a slim profit of $4.9 million per year (acccording to the recent Reuters article).
Holland Casinos are notoriously lack-luster by Las Vegas standards, and a buy-out could revitalize the brand to take advantage of the 11 million tourists that visit visit the Netherlands annually. As it stands, Holland Casino announced it will have to cut 10% of its workforce in order to save the 50 million euros it needs to stay afloat.
