A second, closer look
The cabinet announced on 13 October that it is beginning a further exploration of options to privatise Nederlandse Loterij. It is meant to give a complete picture of the different ways the company could be sold. An outside adviser will help, and the work builds on a 2023 report on the company's possible futures.[1]
The State Secretary for Finance will give the lower house of parliament an interim update in the first quarter of 2027. The full results are to reach it in the second half of 2027 at the latest. On that basis, the government says, a discussion of substance will follow on whether privatisation is possible. If the decision is to sell, a legislative process and the sale itself would follow, which the government expects to take several years.[1]
What the study has to answer
The government lists the points that will get special attention:[1]
- protecting public interests, which the government puts at the centre, including protection against gambling harm and offering games of chance responsibly, taking into account how gambling has changed in recent years;
- how the good causes that now receive money from Nederlandse Loterij could keep that support after a sale;
- the changes to laws and regulations a sale would require, and how the different options would work in practice;
- the effect on the total contribution to good causes in civil society, and the financial consequences for the state.
Three options found workable in 2023
Nederlandse Loterij is a company in which the state holds shares. The other shareholder is a foundation, Stichting Kansspelbelangen NOC*NSF/ALN. Under Dutch gambling rules, the company holds the monopoly licences for prize lotteries, and it also offers games of chance online.[2]
An evaluation earlier in 2023 had concluded that the state did not need to own the company. Laws and regulations, it found, can protect consumers, prevent gambling addiction and counter crime and fraud linked to gambling.[2]
The 2023 report, published in December that year, found three futures workable. The first was selling the whole company while it keeps its monopoly licences. That would need changes to laws, rules and licence conditions. The second was selling only the online games, which would mean splitting the company and losing some efficiency. The third was keeping it as a state holding. That gives the state the most influence, but could limit the company's room to innovate and grow abroad. A fourth option, selling it and opening prize lotteries to competition, was judged not feasible.[2]
Sources
- Government of the Netherlands — Kabinet voert nadere verkenning uit naar privatiseringsmogelijkheden van Nederlandse Loterij (13 October 2026, Dutch). The new study, the outside adviser, the points it covers, the interim update in the first quarter of 2027, the results by the second half of 2027, and the several years a sale would take.
- Government of the Netherlands — Drie varianten voor toekomst Nederlandse Loterij haalbaar (15 December 2023, Dutch). The company's shareholders and monopoly, and the three options found workable and the one that was not.
