888 hopes to go live in the Netherlands soon
The gambling company 888 has not yet applied for a license with the Dutch Gaming Authority (KSA). Nevertheless, the gambling company hopes to enter the Dutch gaming market soon, it was indicated during the annual presentation of the annual results. 888 had a good year with a gross profit of nearly 150 million euros, 74% of which came from the regulated gaming markets.
The gambling company 888 had to withdraw from the Dutch market at the end of September 2021 and this had its consequences. "The fourth quarter was also negatively impacted by the exit from the Netherlands, which was a strong performing sports betting market for the [888] group."
Interestingly, the online casinos have still not applied for a gambling license in the Netherlands with the Ksa. "We intend to apply for a license in the Netherlands and hope to relaunch there on a regulated basis in the second half of 2022." 888 is therefore charmed by the potential in the Dutch market.
"In the Netherlands, the online gambling market started on a locally regulated basis in October 2021, and the Group temporarily exited the market from this date. Prior to that, the Group operated in accordance with a set of "prioritization criteria" established by the regulator and continuously amended from 2019-2021. However, the latest update of the criteria, announced in September 2021, was perceived as a surprise: the option to operate in accordance with the criteria was removed and instead required operators to hold a full license. The Netherlands is still an attractive opportunity for the Group in the medium term, and it plans to re-enter the market once it has applied for and obtained a local license, which is expected to happen in the second half of 2022."
The gambling company 888 therefore still seems to be somewhat behind the times. Several major competitors are one step ahead of the company and have already submitted a license application to the Gaming Authority. At the end of 2021 the gambling company Kindred submitted an application, the company is mainly known from Unibet. In the first months of 2022, Entain would also have applied for a license. Flutter (PokerStars, Betfair) and LeoVegas have also submitted license applications to the Ksa.
