Charity lottery operator Fairshare Nederland launches new anti-loneliness initiative, partners with leading elder care and service foundations
Dutch health lottery Care-a-Lot, which is operated by Fairshare Nederland, has launched a new “action platform” to raise awareness of (structural) loneliness, as well as funds to help combat this social issue.
Care-a-Lot has partnered with elder care foundations Nationale Ouderenfonds and Stichting Vier het Leven.
Holland Casino and labor unions agree new collective labor agreement; Council of State overturns 3AM-7AM catering closure at Holland Casino Amsterdam-West
Holland Casino and labor unions FNV and De Unie have reached a new collective labor agreement. The agreement, which includes a 1.5% wage increase from October 2021, must still be approved by the unions’ membership.
Danielle Justus, director of Human Resources at Holland Casino commented: “Holland Casino has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. We have held intensive but constructive talks in which all parties took joint responsibility for the future of Holland Casino and its employees in these extremely uncertain and difficult times. Apart from the collective labor agreement, we have also succeeded in reaching agreement on a voluntary severance scheme.”
In related news, the Council of State, the Netherlands’ highest administrative court, overturned a decision by the Amsterdam city government to force the Holland Casino Amsterdam-West branch to shut down its catering during the 3AM-7AM hours.
According to the Council’s ruling, the rationale for the decision was insufficiently substantiated. The court directed the Amsterdam city government to issue a new decision.
JVH Gaming & Entertainment Group signs tech deals ahead of online market opening
Ahead of the opening of the regulated Dutch online gambling market, JVH Gaming & Entertainment Group has signed technology deals with platform provider Oryx, sportsbook provider Kambi, and live casino provider Evolution Gaming.
JVH, which operates the Jack’s Casino brand, is currently the second-largest land-based casino operator in the Netherlands behind state-owned Holland Casino. Estimated annual revenues (pre-Covid) exceed €100m.
Other land-based incumbents are expected to announce similar deals soon.
Upcoming events
The following events may be of interest to the GiH community.
Events
SiGMA Europe has been rescheduled to 13 – 15 April, 2021.
The third edition of CasinoBeats Summit will return to Malta from May 18 – 20, 2021, as part of Spring iGaming Week organized in partnership with KPMG and Gaming Malta.
The Betting on Sports America conference and expo has been scheduled for 8 – 10 June, 2021 and will bring together all the major players in the fast-growing North American sports betting industry.
ICE London 2021 will now take place 29 June – July 1, 2021, with the co-located iGB Affiliate London taking place 1 – 2 July.
iGB Live 2021 has also been moved to 28 September – 1 October, 2021, but will still take place in Amsterdam!
Webinars and virtual events
Mindway AI has published an on-demand webinar on player profiling and efficient responsible gaming interventions.
G4 and KPMG have joined forces to offer a safer gambling training for customer support professionals on 28 January, 2021.
Join the iGaming Next Power Hour every Friday @3pm CET for a short, compact, educational and social weekly digital gathering with some of the brightest and most connected minds of the industry.
Netherlands Gambling Authority to waive test institute requirement as regulated market opening comes closer
Facing tight deadlines ahead of the expected opening of the Dutch regulated iGaming market on October 1, 2021, the Netherlands Gambling Authority will have the temporary ability to waive its statutory obligation to only accept game system audits conducted by test institutes that have been formally approved by the Ministry of Justice and Security.
Acceptable test institutes must still have been accredited to audit game systems in at least two other EU member states.
The decision appears to have been made due to an apparent lack of capacity at the Ministry of Justice and Security to approve enough test institutes to conduct all necessary audits in a timely manner.
Other news
Despite a technical malfunction impacting its sales terminals on the day of the draw, the Dutch State Lottery set a record for its New Year’s Eve draw, selling over 7 million tickets.
Entain, the UK gambling group behind Ladbrokes and Coral, has rejected an £8bn takeover proposal from US casino operator MGM Resorts, arguing that it “significantly undervalues” the company.
Better Collective has increased its ownership to 90% of the shares in responsible gambling outfit Mindway AI.
Gross gambling revenue in Portugal rose by 55.7% in Q3 2020 to reach a record €84.2m, according to the latest figures from the country’s gambling regulator.
Spanish gambling marketing spend has skyrocketed 270% in Q3 ahead of the country’s advertising blackout.