Operator News
The Netherlands – Holland Casino sees revenues spike by 148 per cent in 2022
By Phil - 25 April 2023
After the reopening of Holland Casino’s 14 gaming floors at the end of January 2022 and the removal of the restrictive corona measures a month later, the Dutch, state-owned operator has reported ‘an immediate recovery’ for 2022.
Despite the fact that the number of visitors has not yet returned to pre-corona levels, Holland Casino has reported GGR of €753.8m, an increase of €449.6m or 148 per cent compared to 2021. Holland Casino Online also made a cautious contribution to the result in its first full year with revenues of €145.5m, up from €40.4m in 2021 from the moment of launch on 4 October. External factors such as labour market tightness and inflation all had a major impact on business operations in 2022. Other challenges were in the area of the rapid succession of developments with regard to online gambling.
The number of visits to the land-based branches increased to 4.1m, compared to just 1.7m in 2021. The operator conducted 32,561 prevention interviews, of which 12,848 were land-based and 19,713 online.
Due to corona-related government measures, the 14 branches of Holland Casino were closed for a total of 25 days in 2022, after which restrictive measures applied until February 25. In line with cinemas and theatres, by the end of 2022, visitor numbers in the branches had returned to around 75 per cent of the pre-corona level. With 4.1m visits, guests have found their way back to the branches in 2022 and Holland Casino expects that visitor numbers will recover further in 2023.
In addition, due to staff shortages due to shortages on the labour market, the full range of games was not always available. This is a very undesirable situation from the perspective of the channelization objective and Holland Casino strives to have the game offer in order again in 2023. The average spending per visit decreased slightly in 2022, €147 in 2022, four per cent less than in 2021. In 2022, Holland Casino started paying off the tax debt accumulated during the corona period, including a one-off extra repayment of €51.7m. Partly thanks to the restructuring initiated in 2020 and the management of costs, a result after tax of €17m was achieved.
Petra de Ruiter, Chief Executive Officer, said: “For me personally, 2022 was all about getting to know the organization and the colleagues of Holland Casino. One of the highlights was that we were able to celebrate the openings of the new branches in Venlo and Utrecht.”
“In 2022, in addition to a tale of corona measures, external factors again had a major influence on Holland Casino. This is partly due to the market opening of online gambling, which has drastically changed the competitive playing field. This gives a different commercial and social dynamic to which Holland Casino must relate. There was a lot of discussion about advertising for online gambling. Holland Casino understands this sentiment and has responded quickly. The line of restraint with advertising for online gambling will be continued, independently of upcoming additional regulations in this area. This fits in with the exemplary role that Holland Casino wants to continue to play.!
She added: “I look forward to the year 2023, which has the potential to be a special year. With a full occupancy and a complete offer tailored to our guests in our branches, we can flourish again. In addition, I see many opportunities to further strengthen our online offer with, among other things, the expansion of the live studio.”
Ruud Bergervoet, Chief Financial Officer, said: “Despite the closures and therefore the substantial loss in the corona years, Holland Casino is in good shape. In 2022, no more use was made of the Emergency Bridging Measure for Maintaining Employment and from April 2022 Holland Casino no longer used special deferral of tax payment.
“In addition to the recovered result of both the land-based operation and the online offer, the good financial position is partly due to the changes we have implemented last year,” he added. “The organisation is more agile and the cost base has been structurally reduced. As a result, there was investment space for our branches and the online offer in 2022. In 2022, for example, various renovations and sustainability projects took place and, both online and in the branches, investments were made in personnel, game development and innovation.”
