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About Donny King
They took the dispute to international arbitration, claiming Laos had violated investment treaties protecting their businesses.
The two sides reached a settlement in 2014, but that agreement also fell apart, and the casino companies renewed their claims.
Ultimately, the gamble backfired.
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When asked what issue requires the most attention, Kesitilwe highlights underage gambling, especially as mobile penetration in Africa continues to soar.
Particularly concerning to Kesitilwe is the amount of gambling advertising in sports-related content.
“At a break or at half time you see 10 to 20 [gambling] adverts,” he says. “It’s come to a point that oftentimes I even hear my kids singing [gambling adverts]. They’ll just keep asking, ‘But Daddy, what is this? What does this mean?’
About Donny King
Is the monopoly safe, is it set in the law that it will operate forevermore? No, it’s under constant evaluation, Petra explains: “The Dutch state, represented by the Ministry of Finance, is our shareholder and they evaluate every seven years, not only us as Holland Casino, but all state-owned companies.”
One of the operator’s most significant challenges is the increase in gambling tax enforced over recent years. Petra has been particularly vocal about this and the company’s profitability has taken a reasonable hit, since the first tax increase to 34.2% of GGR came into effect on 1 January 2025.
Holland Casino now pays 37.8% of GGR to the state, as per the additional increase in 2026, but with labour tax on top the business pays around 52% before they can look at their base running costs. It is not a small burden by any stretch of the imagination, so it is heartening to see the business doing well despite the tightening tax burden.
