Holland Casino director warns of “very undesirable measures” if government hikes gambling tax

The state-owned casino operator reported a loss of €3.5m in H1.

The Netherlands.- Holland Casino has reported its H1 results, revealing a loss of €3.5m compared to a profit of over €17m in the same period last year. The state-controlled operator paid an extra €3.7m in gambling tax due to a 1 per cent rate hike at the start of the year, and it’s preparing for more challenges as the new Dutch government plans a further hike in gambling tax from 30.5 to 37.8 per cent. 

Commenting on the first-half figures, Holland Casino director Petra de Ruiter said the operator would be unable to absorb such an increase and warned that the company would have to launch aggressive campaigns to recruit more customers in order to stay in the black.

De Ruiter said: “Our total tax burden will then be almost 50 per cent. This makes black figures impossible. We will make a significant loss. Unlike supermarkets, we cannot pass on price increases. The only alternative is that we will take very undesirable measures such as aggressive campaigns to recruit new guests, encouraging people to spend much more or by significantly reducing prize money.  

“These measures are unacceptable for Holland Casino and irresponsible from the perspective of government policy on gambling. The planned investments in our prevention policy will also come under pressure.” 

Due to high inflation, Holland Casino also faced a rise in personnel costs in H1, from €136.5m to €151.5m. Revenue fell by 2.4 per cent to €395.4m. Land-based casino revenue was down 0.5 per cent despite a slight increase in visitors, and online casino revenue fell by 14.7 per cent.

Holland Casino CFO Ruud Bergervoet said: “Holland Casino’s finances are under severe pressure due to increased costs. This mainly concerns high inflation, the increase in the collective labour agreement and investments in our gaming offering and staffing.  

“As a company, we are also still working on paying off Covid-19 debts. This makes our financial position vulnerable. It is crucial for our financial health that no further significant cost increases occur now. Only then can we prevent ourselves from ending up in a loss-making situation.”