Holland Casino has announced plans to close its casino branch in Zandvoort next year in February, partly due to visitors’ behaviour changing and deteriorating market conditions.
Within a statement on its website, the Dutch state-owned operator noted that the closure is in line with its strategy outlined last year.
This strategy was aimed at tackling the casino’s rising costs, increasing the robustness of the company and continuing to invest in its prevention policy.
Holland Casino said that it has used its strategy to thoroughly examine its branches across the Netherlands to determine the best distribution strategy, in addition to the prospect of healthy business operations.
As such, Holland Casino will now be closing its first-ever casino branch, which opened back in 1976.
The operator noted that the closure is partly due to “changed visitor behaviour, deteriorating market conditions in Zandvoort and too much overlap with the catchment area of other locations”.
Commenting on the Zandvoort casino, CEO Petra de Ruiter stated that the closure is “essential” for Holland Casino to continue building a sustainable future for itself, adding that it expects to relocate its Zandvoort employees to other locations.
“For Holland Casino, the closure is essential to continue building a sustainable future for the company, in which we can continue to contribute to a safe and responsible gaming climate,” said de Ruiter.
“At the same time, the closure means an emotional farewell to the first branch that Holland Casino opened in 1976. However, we expect to be able to relocate most of our employees to other branches and we hope to welcome our guests to one of our other locations.”
Back in August, within its financial results for the first half of 2024, Holland Casino highlighted that the 1% increase in gambling tax in the Netherlands had cost the group a total of €3.7m since the beginning of the year.
