Holland Casino has released its annual report for 2020, revealing that revenue for the operator was down 53.8% compared to 2019, at €333.0m.
After opening its 14 venues for just 71 days in the year without any restrictions related to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, visitor numbers were down 60.0% year-on-year to 2.5 million.
The average spend per visit increased by 13.7% however, from €117 in 2019 to €133, which Holland Casino said was due to a “different visitor mix”.
The majority of the operator’s €333.0m in revenue came from slot machines, at €185.9m, while table games brought in €124.7m, tips brought in €10.7m, food and beverage €10.3m, and other benefits amounted to €1.4m.
Gambling taxes also declined by 53.8%, to €94.5m, though the operator was able to defer €74.9m of this.
When combined with operating expenses – down from €442.5m in 2019 to €318.0m – this led to a loss before corporation tax of €80.7m. This compared to a net profit before tax of €86.9m in 2019.
Holland Casino then received a corporation tax benefit of €21.9m, resulting in a final loss of €58.8m.
However, Holland Casino said it has remained financially robust with a solid liquidity position and continues to invest strategically in its future.
“Despite the constantly changing circumstances and major challenges that this crisis year caused, I firmly believe that we will get through it well,” said Erwin van Lambaart, the operator’s chief executive.
“This is due to the resilience of our people, general government support measures, focus on cost control and a clear strategic investment vision for the future. Together, this has meant that we were always able to anticipate the consequences of this crisis.”
Having remained closed since December last year, Holland Casino announced earlier this month that its venues would be allowed to reopen gradually at the end of this week as part of a pilot programme.
The weekend of 24 and 25 April, 6 of the operator’s venues across the Netherlands will be allowed to open for one day. On Saturday 24 April, this applies to the casinos in Enschede, Venlo and Breda, while on Sunday 25 April the casinos in Amsterdam West, Utrecht and Leeuwarden will be allowed to open.
New restrictions mean that all visitors to the casinos must have made a reservation and bring a negative Covid-19 test certificate.
The operator plans to trial the new system to find out if Covid-19 testing will work to allow its venues to reopen more quickly.
