Holland Casino forced to close
One of the company’s facilities was completely destroyed by fire and was forced to close its doors.
Netherlands.- Holland Casino, the land-based casino monopoly from the Netherlands, experienced the total destruction of one of its facilities over the weekend. Condidering that the Groningen casino incident took place on Saturday, the busiest day, the amount of money lost could be really high, although authorities still don’t have definitive numbers.
Chairman of Holland Casino Erwin van Lambaaf said to local media that they don’t know how much money might have been lost to the fire but it could be a considerable amount as it happened on Saturday, which is the busiest day of the week. The official said that the episode is a black page in Holland Casino’s history and that the company is concerned about the future of the 200 employees, who were not injured during the incident, CalvinAyre reported.
The board is considering options regarding the future of the facility, and the opening of a temporary location in the city could be possible. Van Lanbaaf said that it is uncertain that the company would seek a permanent venue in the same city again. Holland Casino currently features 13 gaming venues across the country that offer 6185 slot machines and 420 gaming tables.
Back in February, the Dutch Lower House passed a bill that wants to privatise half of the state owned Holland Casino. The gaming facility is currently the only land-based casino operator in the country allowed to offer live table games, and a future sell could bring more than US$1 billion. The bill also establishes that the Netherlands Gaming Authority would supervise the buyers and their operations, besides consulting with law specialists before issuing a new land-based casino license.
