The extended licenses cover lotto games, scratch cards, and land-based sports betting, all of which Lotto B.V. now runs under its current permits, with the latest renewals allowing the operator to continue offering its products until 2031.
The license extensions come at a time when an appeal challenging the legality of the monopoly system is still before the Council of State’s Administrative Jurisdiction Division, with no final ruling having been announced yet. For this reason, the KSA stated that it would have preferred to wait for the pending court ruling before issuing new licenses; however, the close expiry date didn’t allow the regulator to delay its decision.
The regulatory body also added new conditions to all three licenses, requiring Lotto B.V. to notify the KSA in advance of any changes to its ownership or corporate structure. At the same time, instead of opening the licenses to competition, the KSA awarded them directly, pointing to the state’s ownership stake in the company as justification.
The licenses could still be affected based on the final court ruling, so if the Council of State allows the monopoly system to continue, then Lotto B.V.’s licenses would stand; however, if the court decides against private awarding, the permits could be removed entirely.
