Nederlandse Loterij names Arjan Blok as next CEO

Blok will replace current CEO Niels Onkenhout next year.

The Netherlands.- The Dutch state lottery Nederlandse Loterij has named Arjan Blok as its new chief executive. He will take up the position by September 1 next year, when current CEO Niels Onkenhout‘s term ends.

Blok is currently chief financial officer of the Dutch national lottery operator, a position he took up on a full-time basis in 2016 following a stint as interim CFO. Before joining the lottery operator, he served at RWE, including as CFO for RWE Retail. His career has also included stints at Essent, NS Reizifers and Nederlandse Staatsloterij, which merged with De Lotto in 2016.

The lottery is now seeking a new CFO.

The lottery’s chair Alexander Pechtold said: “I would first like to express my sincere appreciation for the board of Nederlandse Loterij, with Niels as CEO and Blok as CFO. Over the past seven years, they have helped develop the organisation into a healthy home for strong gaming brands, where the interests of the player always come first through a unique responsible gaming policy and a growing contribution to society.”

He added: “Under the leadership of Arjan, the organisation has seen continuous positive financial results since the merger in 2016. He has also made an important contribution to accelerating the digital transformation. We are confident that in the long term, with this new board of directors – supplemented by a new CFO to be recruited – we will have a strong team to take the Dutch Lottery to the next chapter.”

Earlier this month, Nederlandse Loterij launched a new Innovation Lab tech initiative. It’s put out a call for “entrepreneurs and creative thinkers to future-proof the Dutch Lottery”. Led by Nederlandse Loterij head of strategy and innovation, Collin Mous, the Innovation Lab will reward grants of €25,000 to entrepreneurs that propose pilot projects aimed at improving the lottery’s operations and commercial offerings. It is also interested in the development of player protection measures to prevent excessive gambling.