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Beyond raising the age limit to 21, Van Dijk called for a complete reversal of the Netherlands’ 2021 online gambling legalisation, which helped establish a reasonably mature legal gambling market for the sector, until tighter restrictions for players, and increased taxes, struck licensed operators in recent years.
Van Dijk also voiced his opinion that all gambling advertising should be banned, including for lotteries and land-based casinos.
He also questioned the government’s involvement with the state-owned entities Holland Casino and Nederlandse Loterij, especially in its assessment on how to limit gambling harms.
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Taking a deeper look at these restrictive driving black market activity, up to 46% of the markets covered in the report enforced “significant advertising restrictions” on the regulated market, including in Belgium, Bulgaria, Coratia, Cyprus, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Spain.
Additionally the report cited taxing consumers (in 29% of the 28 markets covered), and banned products (14%), were also propelling growth in illegal gambling. A lack of choice, due to monopolies in place in five markets has also driven the rise.
Players typically play across various verticals, and by imposing restrictions on specific verticals or betting markets, engaged customers will look elsewhere to access these activities.
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The enlarged group could deliver up to €4 billion in capital returns over the three years following the completion of the deal.
Cirsa has followed an aggressive acquisition strategy in recent years, most recently entering the land-based casino market in Portugal by acquiring a majority stake in Sociedade Figueira Praia, S.A., the owner and operator of Casino Figueira.
Prior to that, Cirsa entered the Paraguay market through an acquisition of the online slots operator Slots del Sol, while it also acquired the leading Peruvian operator Apuesta Total in 2024.
