Despite its short existence, there is a lot to say about the iGaming market in the Netherlands, one of the last countries in Europe to legalize online casinos. After more than a decade of debate, the new Remote Gambling Bill was adopted in the Netherlands in February 2019 after which it took another two years of waiting.
The Remote Gambling Act only came into effect on the 1st of April 2021, initiating the stringent license application process for both national and international operators wanting to offer their casino products in the country. After the Dutch regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) issued the first licenses on the 29th of September 2021, the first regulated online casinos opened their virtual doors a few days later, beginning in October 2021[1].
With initially only 10 casino websites available, the market has now developed into what is widely considered a reasonably sized market featuring 24 operators. More companies are expected to be welcomed in the country as the KSA accepts both domestic and international operators while the same is true for software providers.
One of the most popular game studios in the Netherlands is Stakelogic, a Dutch-born and based provider. NetEnt, Play’n GO, and Nolimit City are other popular software developers while Playtech has seen a boost as well thanks to powering Holland Casino Online’s platform. Despite being state-owned and the only land-based casino operator in the country, TOTO Casino, Unibet, and BetCity have impressively managed to outperform Holland Casino Online and are now part of the top 3 of most popular online casinos in the Netherlands. Two out of the three are Dutch owned while Malta-based Unibet was already the most visited casino before iGaming was officially regulated in the Netherlands.
Interestingly, all three casinos have their share of exclusive slot games, some of them especially catered for the Dutch market. According to Simon Lucas, expert in iGaming in the Netherlands, tailor-made casino games have in fact turned out to be extremely popular among Dutch consumers known for their very particular preferences for casino games.
This is also reflected in the best-performing slot games in the Netherlands with some examples being:
Dutch Flip
A medium volatile slot by Play’n Go, with solid winning potential that can go up to a max of 10,000x the bet. As the name implies, Dutch Flip is full of Dutch details and symbols like windmills, clogs, and bicycles. Some would call this slot game a cultural celebration.
Bonus Runner
The Dutch have shown to have a strong preference for classic fruit machines and Eindhoven-based game studio Stakelogic made sure to launch a game specifically for the Dutch market promising nostalgia max potential wins of 1086x the bet [2].
Koning TOTO in Vegas
Despite Las Vegas being the game’s setting, Koning (King) TOTO, the casino’s mascot is part of the slot, brought to you by Microgaming with 9 pay lines and a minimum betting limit of € 0,09. The maximum potential win is just as impressive as it can go up to € 240,000.
Maximize the potential of the market the right way
Although online casinos were only regulated in October 2021, iGaming in the Netherlands has shown to be one of the most sensational casino markets in Europe [3] with Dutch players having a strong preference for locally produced or locally themed slot games. According to iGaming in the Netherlands expert Simon Lucas, international software providers can maximize their market potential by launching tailor-made casino games adapted to Dutch consumers with classic fruit slots being yet another safe option to attract the crowds.
“A software provider’s best bet to succeed in the Netherlands is to launch slot games with Dutch-oriented themes, classic fruit machines, or ideally a combination of both.”
Simon Lucas, part of CasinoScout Netherlands
Sources:
[2]: https://stakelogic.com/en/stakelogic-introduces-bonus-runner-to-the-dutch-market/
