Dutch regulator mulls pari-mutuel betting licence contest
KSA solicits interest in new five-year licence to offer retail pool betting with operators charged €32,000 for applications
The Dutch Gambling Authority (KSA) has opened a process for operators interested in taking over the country’s sole licence to provide pari-mutuel betting on horseracing.
At present, there is only one licence available to operate pari-mutuel betting, which functions as a legal monopoly.
The current licence expires on 31 June 2022 and is held by Sportech subsidiary ZEbetting.
The KSA will begin an “open and transparent” licence tender process for the new licence later this year.
The new licence will be awarded on a five-year term.
The licence only permits betting on horseracing events and only through the pari-mutuel system. It excludes fixed-odds betting or betting exchanges.
The licence is limited to retail betting only and will be subject to the new licensing system introduced as part of the Dutch Remote Gambling Act (KOA).
“The licensee must contribute a proportion of the gross gambling proceeds to the horseracing industry,” the KSA said.
“The level and form of this contribution will likely resemble that of the contribution from the proceeds of horse race gambling under the Remote Gambling Act,” the regulator added.
The KSA has confirmed applications will initially be assessed against a set of eligibility and experience requirements, followed by a selection phase.
It is understood most of these requirements will be based on licensing requirements contained within KOA.
Each applicant will be required to pay a fee of €32,000 for the processing of the application, which must be paid in advance.
There will be no refund if the application is rejected. Prospective operators are invited to contact the Dutch regulator.
In June 2020, Kindred Group won a legal appeal against the KSA over favouritism shown to ZEbetting in its pari-mutuel licensing application.
In November 2016, the KSA began a “transparent award procedure” for a five-year pools betting licence, allowing other operators to compete alongside the incumbent.
On this basis, Kindred Group’s Trannel subsidiary submitted, but later withdrew, its application after Kindred concluded that the licence was going to be re-awarded to the incumbent.
After launching a complaint, Kindred took the KSA to court over the contest, losing its initial case before a later successful appeal of the ruling.
Judges in the Dutch Council of State’s administrative division ruled that rival firms were not able to compete properly for the licence due to the conditions imposed by the KSA at that time.