SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Following its October 2015 approval by the Council of Ministers, Dutch national lottery operators Staatsloterij and De Lotto have finalised their merger.
Operating under a new combined entity, Staatsloterij and De Loto will initially maintain its existing brand portfolio which includes lottery products; Toto, Lucky Day, Krasloten, EuroJackpot, Miljoenenspel.
The new enterprise will be led by Staatsloterij Chief Executive Frans van Steenis, with De Loto’s former MD Claire Lurvink taking on CFO responsibilities.
On completing the merger, Frans van Steenis commented “Staatsloterij and De Loto have now formed what is the biggest traditional Dutch lottery organisation. The Dutch lottery will now have a much greater social relevance than ever before.”
Lurvink detailed to the Dutch Media that the merger was needed to improve fundraising and overall lottery market efficiencies.
Dutch ministers who approved the merger, have estimated that a unified lottery operator could generate revenues of + €1 billion.
The merger of Staatsloterij and De Loto comes as the Netherlands awaits the legalisation of online gambling services, which will open the market to international operators.
In preparation for the opening of regulated digital markets, Staatsloterij and De Loto announced this week that they had signed an exclusive partnership with Canadian (TSX listed) igaming platform and games supplier NYX Gaming.
