KSA Renews Lotto BV Monopolies to 2031 as the Council of State Weighs Legality

The Dutch regulator says it would rather have waited for the appeal ruling, but the current licences expire on 31 December. If the monopoly falls, revocation will come no sooner than a year after the judgment.

• The Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has granted Lotto BV three new monopoly licences for lotto games, instant lotteries and land-based sports betting, running for five years from 1 January 2027, it announced on 11 September
• An appeal on the lawfulness of continuing the monopoly system for those games is pending before the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State; the KSA says it would have preferred to await the ruling
• The licences were awarded privately because Lotto BV, part of Nederlandse Loterij, is a state participation; if it is privatised the KSA will reassess whether the licences can continue
• If the Council rules the market must open, the licences stand but others may apply; if it rules private award is no longer permitted, revocation would follow no earlier than one year after the judgment
• The decision lands days after the KSA chairman's column on illegal gambling and as the Netherlands debates a licence cap for the online market

A Five-Year Licence Granted Under a Question Mark

The Dutch gambling regulator has renewed the state lottery subsidiary's exclusive rights to three product categories for another five years, while openly acknowledging that a court may shortly decide those exclusive rights should not exist.

The Kansspelautoriteit said on 11 September that it had again granted Lotto BV three monopoly licences, allowing it to offer lotto games, instant lotteries in the form of scratch cards, and land-based sports betting for five years from the expiry of the current licences on 31 December 2026. At the same time, an appeal is pending before the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State on the lawfulness of continuing the monopoly system for these games. The KSA said it "would preferably have awaited the ruling of the Council of State before granting new monopoly licences", but that the approaching expiry made a decision necessary now.

Two reasons are given. An uninterrupted legal supply of lotto, scratch cards and land-based sports betting must be guaranteed after 31 December, and Lotto BV needs timely clarity on whether it can continue after that date. The new licences carry additional conditions on player protection and preventing participation by minors, and a duty to notify the KSA of any proposed change to Lotto BV's ownership and control structure.

What Happens if the Court Says No

The regulator has set out the consequences in advance. The licences were awarded privately, without a competitive process, because of Lotto BV's particular position as a state participation under state control; Lotto BV is a subsidiary of Nederlandse Loterij, the state-owned counterpart to Holland Casino for lotteries and sports betting. If Lotto BV is privatised during the licence period, the KSA will assess whether the licences can continue or must be withdrawn.

If the Council of State rules that the monopoly system must be opened, the KSA says the licences granted to Lotto BV can remain in place, and other parties will be able to apply for a licence for the same games. If the Council rules that private award is no longer permitted, the licences may be revoked, but given the preparation time the KSA would need for a transparent award procedure, "any revocation will not take place earlier than one year after the ruling of the Council of State".

The Netherlands re-regulated online gambling in 2021 under a competitive licensing model, while lotteries, scratch cards, land-based sports betting and casino gaming remain governed by the monopoly structure of the 1964 Gambling Act. The European Gaming and Betting Association's complaint to the European Commission that the monopolies amounted to state aid to the incumbents ran for nearly a decade before being resolved last year, NEXT.io notes; the domestic appeal now before the Council of State is the live challenge.

The KSA Has Chosen Continuity and Written the Exit Clause Into the Decision

A regulator that believes a court may find its licensing model unlawful has three options: wait and risk a gap, grant short bridging licences, or grant the full term and say plainly what happens if the court disagrees. The KSA took the third, and the published reasoning is the interesting part. By stating that a ruling against private award would lead to revocation no sooner than a year later, and that a ruling to open the market would leave Lotto BV's licences standing while competitors apply, it has pre-committed to both outcomes and given the market a timeline for each. That is more transparent than most regulators manage when defending an incumbent, and it makes the Council of State's decision the operative event rather than the KSA's. It also confirms the direction of travel: the regulator's own document treats the opening of these markets as a scenario to plan for, not to resist.

The Monopoly Question and the Licence-Cap Question Are the Same Question

Parliament spent its annual gambling debate this month on proposals to limit the number of online licence holders when the first five-year licences from 2021 expire, and the KSA's chairman said the same week that he expected less from a licence cap than some members did. The Lotto BV decision is the mirror image: a market with a single licence holder that a court may force open. Whichever way the Council rules, the Netherlands will shortly be arguing about how many licences its gambling markets should have on both sides of the 1964 line at once, and an EU-law answer that the lottery and land-based betting monopolies cannot be awarded privately would sit awkwardly beside a policy of restricting the online market by fiat. The KSA has bought Lotto BV five years, subject to a court, and bought itself a year's notice. The political question it has not answered is which model the country wants.

Lotto BV keeps its monopolies for now, with the regulator's own timetable for losing them attached. The Council of State will decide whether that timetable starts.