The Dutch Council of State has ruled that the Kansspelautoriteit, known as the KSA, may lawfully continue operating a monopoly model across certain gambling categories.
The decision reaffirms the legal foundation underpinning how the Dutch regulator has long structured licensing across key gambling verticals in the Netherlands.
The KSA had already renewed Lotto BV’s three exclusive licences at the start of the week, covering lottery games, instant lotteries, and retail sports betting.
Lotto BV is a subsidiary of the state-owned Nederlandse Loterij, making it a government-backed entity that has long held a privileged position in the Dutch gambling landscape.
The regulator acknowledged it would have preferred to wait for the Council of State’s final ruling before renewing those licences, but the imminent expiry forced its hand.
Had the ruling gone against the KSA, those freshly renewed licences could potentially have faced revocation, creating serious uncertainty for the Dutch gambling market.
The case was originally brought by JVH Gaming and Entertainment, a company that operates a number of slots halls across the Netherlands but lacks a licence to offer casino games or lottery products.
JVH applied for a licence in 2021 to compete in the same markets as Lotto BV, but the KSA rejected those applications, citing the monopoly framework established under the 1964 Gambling Act.
JVH challenged that decision through the district courts, raising questions about whether the monopoly model conflicted with EU laws on free trade and the free movement of services.
The District Court of East Brabant sided with JVH in 2024, judging that its appeals against the KSA’s decisions were well-founded and lending weight to arguments for broader market liberalisation.
Part of JVH’s argument drew on the inconsistency between the monopoly model and the Netherlands’ online gambling market, which was opened to competition in 2021 through the Remote Gambling Act, known as the KOA.
Critics argued that if online gambling could operate under an open licensing regime, there was little justification for maintaining strict monopoly controls in other parts of the market.
The KSA consistently maintained throughout the legal process that the restrictions were proportionate and justified, a position now effectively endorsed by the Council of State’s ruling.
For the broader Dutch gambling sector, the decision provides a degree of regulatory clarity, particularly for operators like Lotto BV that depend on exclusive licences to conduct their business.
The ruling does not resolve every question surrounding Dutch gambling regulation, but it firmly establishes that monopoly licences remain legally sound under the current legislative framework.
