JVH gaming CEO Eric Olders is the latest Dutch arcade operator to call for the Netherlands government to create a “level playing field” when it introduces new gambling reforms.
Olders, whose company has approximately 50 arcade slot “casino” locations across the Netherlands, believes the market is desperately in need of reform.
“In the past, the Netherlands has been seen as a frontrunner when it comes to the regulation of gaming, but that goes back to the ’80s,” Olders told InterGame. “Now at this stage, the regulation really needs a change.”
This restructuring of the country’s gaming laws will be a “massive project,” he said, particularly given the government’s intention to legalise online gaming, which he suggested will “dominate the future of the whole business.”
Likening the country’s legal framework with that of an old IT system that can no longer cope with today’s operator commands, Olders said that it does not organise the market as it should.
“The key for the future is the law and the way that the law shapes the market,” he continued. “We need a level playing field. The law is too strict in terms of product innovation and the tax rate – 29 per cent for offline, 20 per cent for online – is illogical and obviously too high.
“If we want to compete fairly with Holland Casino or new entrants on the online side, it is essential we all have the same obligations but also the same access to products.
“Hopefully the new law will evolve quickly and the present administration will remain in place to see it through; we don’t want to go back to square one.”
Earlier this week, Jan Schiffelers, CEO of the Janshen-Hahnraths Group, told InterGame that the tax burden placed on the arcades is “really excessive, disproportionate and unfair.”
To read the full interview with Eric Olders of JVH gaming, pick up a copy of the September issue of InterGame.
