Nederlandse Loterij, the Netherlands’ state lottery operator, has reported a 12% year-on-year increase in turnover in 2019, with its contribution to sporting federations, charities and the public purse rising to €173.1m (£152.0m/$187.5m) for the year.Turnover amounted to €1.31bn, of which €894.7m was paid out to players as winnings and gaming taxes, up 15% from 2018.
Of the €173.1m distributed to good causes, NOC * NSF, the body formed through the merger of the Netherlands Olympic Committee and Dutch Sports Federation received €46.4m.
A further €17.6m was shared between 18 charitable partners, while the Dutch state received €109.1m
“Each year, almost all profits generated by Nederlandse Loterij goes to Dutch sports, charities and back to society through the Ministry of Finance,” the lottery’s chief executive Niels Onkenhout said.
“Our employees, retailers and other partners are committed growing this contribution each year. We are proud that we can return more than €173m in 2019 in the form of this payment.”
The increased contribution to NOC * NSF was welcomed by the organisation’s chair, Anneke van Zanen-Nieberg.
“Every year, the Nederlandse Loterij makes it possible for so many people in the Netherlands to participate in and enjoy sports,” she said.
“[I] would like to thank the lottery for its efforts, and I would especially like to thank everyone in the Netherlands who contributed by playing the Staatsloterij, Lotto, Eurojackpot, Millions, Lucky Day, scratch cards or Toto. Keep doing that, you are really supporting sport by doing so. Especially now.”
Nederlandse Loterij was formed through the merger of De Loto and the Nederlandse Staatsloterij in 2016, and is overseen by the country’s Ministry of Finance.
It is preparing to compete against private operators when the country’s regulated igaming market opens from 1 July 2021, having struck a platform deal with SG Digital (originally NYX Gaming Group) in 2017.
This was expanded in October last year to cover online sports betting, via the supplier’s OpenSports solution.
