Version: 12102001
Editor: Franka Pals
Publisher: Novamedia
Disclaimer: Novamedia disclaims all liability for information provided within the "Novamedia European Gaming and Lottery Files".The information is supplied by independent journalistic sources. No parts of these files may be reproduced in any form by print, photo print, microfilm or otherwise, or re-distributed electronically in any form without written permission from the publisher.
The Netherlands, on the coast of the North Sea, is twice the size of the state of New Jersey. Part of the great plain of north and west Europe. The Netherlands, also called Holland, has maximum dimensions of 190 by 160 miles (360 by 257 km) and is low and flat except in Limburg (province) in the southeast, where some hills rise to 300 ft (92 m). About half the country's area is below sea level, making the famous Dutch dikes a requisite to the use of much land. Reclamation of land from the sea through dikes has continued through recent times. The Netherlands borders on Germany in the East and Belgium in the South.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands, a constitutional monarchy, is a prosperous and open economy depending heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for stable industrial relations, moderate inflation, a sizable current account surplus, and an important role as a European transportation hub: Amsterdam Schiphol airport and Rotterdam harbour. The capital and largest city is Amsterdam(750,000 inhabitants); The Hague is the administrative capital (450,000), where Queen Beatrix also resides.
he Dutch inflation rate fell by 0.1% in November, 2001, reaching 4.2% according to the latest figures by Statistics Netherlands. This is the lowest inflation rate since January. The European harmonised inflation rate for the Netherlands fell by 0.2%, reaching 4.8% in November
| Population: | 16 million(2001 03 07 ) |
|---|---|
| Age structure: | in millions: |
| Currency: | The Netherlands is a member state of the European Union and one of the 12 EU-members that use the |
| GPD | purchasing power parity: $388.4 billion ( 2000 est.) real growth rate: 4% (2000 est.) per capita: purchasing power parity: $24,400 (2000 est.) |
| Telecom | Number of mobile telephones: 8.6 million (400.000 more than fixed telephones). |
| Internet | In the second half of July 2001, 51.2% of the population was online at least once, to qualify as active internet users. Someone is considered a real Internet user if he or she was online at least once during the last 14 days. (Source:The Internet Monitor. www.proactive.nl.) |
Website: www.gamingboard.nl
Various government institutions in the Netherlands are involved in licensing and controlling gaming. At the national level, five departments (Justice; Economic Affairs; Finance; Public Health, Welfare and Sports; Agriculture) are involved in licensing the gaming monopolies. The Netherlands gaming control board (College van toezicht op de kansspelen) was established January 1st 1996 as an independent advisory body in respect of the national gaming monopolies. The legal framework of the Board is contained in section VIa of the Act on games of chance.
The mission of the Board is to control the national gaming monopolies. There are six legal monopolies in the Netherlands (state lottery; instant lottery, sportsbetting; horsebetting; lotto; casinogames) plus three charitable lotteries with exclusive rights (bankgiro lottery; postcode lottery; sponsorbingo lottery). The Board advises the departments involved on the issuing, alteration and withdrawal of the licenses for these monopolies and on the approval of their constitution and regulations. The Board does not have any coercive or compulsory powers.
Transparency and consistency are the Boards leading principles. The Board advocates a social acceptable performance of all national gaming monopolies and emphasises the transparency of prizes, costs and proceeds for the good causes and the treasury. The Board endeavours a consistent gaming policy by the departments involved in gaming regulation, offering the national gaming monopolies the same set of conditions and regulations as far as possible.
The Board consists of seven independent members, appointed by the Crown. The Board is chaired by Mrs. Lien Vos-van Gortel, member of the State Council. The permanent secretariat has a staff of four and forms a part of the civil service of the department of Justice. Although the Board is an independent body, it comes under the political responsibility of the Minister of Justice, who also provides for the Boards annual budget.
* Information provided by the Netherlands gaming control board.
* Information provided by the Netherlands Gaming Control Board
On November 8th, 2001, a parliamentary commission gave the Dutch government the green light to change its gambling legislation. A new gambling act will be prepared and discussed in Parliament in Spring 2002. Among several changes, Internet gambling will be allowed. The most important changes will be:
The deputy-Minister of Justice Ella Kalsbeek informed the members of Parliament also on the international activities of Dutch operator Novamedia (active in Sweden, Uzbekistan, Germany, Switzerland, Dutch Antilles and Canada). In general, Dutch law does not accept cross-border gambling activities (operating, marketing, selling, etc.) in The Netherlands.
The Dutch legislation however, does not forbid that Dutch operators will carry out gambling activities in countries outside the Netherlands. Therefore Kalsbeek will allow those international expansions on the condition that it will not create a conflict with the Dutch laws and the laws of the country where those operations will take place. In return foreign operators will be allowed to start operating in The Netherlands.
It is also expected that the introduction of the Euro will play an important role. This new monetary unit will make it much easier to participate with lotteries inother regions outside The Netherlands. The Euro makes it also easier to compare the (main)prizes. There will be a stronger competition. Some European Lottery Operators have a pay out of 70%.
| Year | State Lottery |
Postcode Loterij |
De Lotto | BankGiro Loterij |
Sponsor Loterij |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 625 | 15 | 157 | 118 | - |
| 1991 | 622 | 70 | 154 | 129 | 3 |
| 1992 | 771 | 161 | 161 | 145 | 11 |
| 1993 | 804 | 238 | 268 | 146 | 14 |
| 1994 | 778 | 320 | 473 | 141 | 17 |
| 1995 | 859 | 362 | 432 | 138 | 21 |
| 1996 | 923 | 390 | 446 | 139 | 23 |
| 1997 | 1,041 | 443 | 445 | 149 | 25 |
| 1998 | 1,133 | 536 | 452 | 149 | 44 |
| 1999 | 1,268 | 541 | 482 | 149 | 109 |
| 2000 | 1,313 | 579 | 486 | 147 | 111 |
* Information provided by the Netherlands Gaming Control Board
Research by Ernst & Young Forensic Services BV (www.ey.nl), February 5th, 2001 shows that non-internet illegal gambling in The Netherlands exceeds over 0.5 billion NLG per annum. The report was commissioned by the Netherlands Gaming Control Board and the Dutch Gambling Platform.
The Ernst & Young research was aimed at:
| Game | Gross Illegal Gaming Yield P.A. | Gross Legal Gaming Yield P.A |
|---|---|---|
| Casinos | 300 million* | 444 million |
| Bingo | 45 million | 27 million |
| Horse betting | 425,000 | 27 million |
| Lotto & Toto | >200 million | 148 million |
The total gross yield of all legal gaming (including all other games such as lotteries and fruit machines) is estimated on 3,5 - 4 billion NLG
Mid 2001 the Netherlands Gaming Control Board asked NIPO (www.nipo.nl), the Dutch market research institute, which is a member of the worldwide organisation of Taylor Nelson Sofres, to conduct a research on gambling via internet. On November 22, 2001, the report 'Gambling on the Internet' was published.
On November 20th, 2000, NIPO published another report 'Taking part in foreign Games of chance in the Netherlands' commissioned by the Netherlands Gaming Control Board.
Lottery and Lotto/Toto Expenditure in NLG per Dutch Household in:
Website: www.staatsloterij.nl
On March 29th, 2001, the StateLottery celebrated its 275th birthday. The Statelotery is not only the oldest existing lottery in the world, but is also, by far, the Dutch market leader.In its 274th year there was a growth in turnover and the market share increased slightly.
| Year | State Lottery | New Years Eve Lottery | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
1996 |
813 |
110 |
923 |
| 1997 | 911 | 130 | 1,041 |
| 1998 | 973 | 160 | 1,133 |
| 1999 | 1,077 | 191 | 1,268 |
| 2000 | 1,104 | 209 | 1,313 |
| Year | A | B | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 178 | 14.7 | 67.7 | 108 |
| 1997 | 183 | 14.6 | 67.3 | 114 |
| 1998 | 225 | 14.1 | 67.0 | 114 |
| 1999 | 257 | 13.3 | 67.0 | 110 |
| 2000 | 250 | 14.2 | 66.7 | 124 |
| A: | Result before remittance to the exchequer | |||
| B: | Operating Costs as % of the turnover | |||
| C: | Prize Money as % of the turnover | |||
| D: | Number of personnel | |||
Responsible factors for the turnover development of the StateLottery and New Years Eve Lottery:
In 2000 in total 9.783.000 NLG was unclaimed by Statelottery players.
* 1 Euro = 2.02 NLG
StateLottery:
Website: www.dayzers.nl
On July 19, 2001, the Dutch StateLottery started selling tickets into a new weekly lottery called 'Dayzers' . The first draw took place on August 11th. A 'Dayzer' entry lot costs 3.50 Euro. There will be a weekly draw, the major prize is 500,000 Euro. A player can compose a personal 'lotnumber' by filling in a lucky date. For instance if a player was born on February 2nd, the player could choose the number 0202.
To make the 'lot' unique the player has to also fill in three characters, for instance MAX. So the player creates a 'lot' with the number MAX 0202. With 'Dayzers' your birthday, wedding day or any other lucky day can be your own unique 'lotnumber'. Players may win between 3.5 and 500,000 Euro. Prizes are free of betting tax. A minimum of 60% will be distributed as prize money. Other Dutch operators allocate prize money between 18 and 49%.
Three years earlier the Dutch StateLottery started a similar lottery called 'Birthday Lottery'. The tickets were printed, the promotional TV programmes were being broadcast, then just before the actual launch, the competitor of the StateLottery, the good causes NationalPostcodeLottery fought the launch of this new lottery. The first court case was won by the Postcode-Lottery and the StateLottery had to stop all its activities in relation to the 'Birthday Lottery'. Later the Statelottery won the appeal against the earlier court's decision.
However, the PostcodeLottery subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court. Since the summer of 2000 both operators undertook a gentlemen's agreement that both parties would not start another lottery until new legislation was introduced. This agreement took place in the presence of two under ministers (Finance & Justice). Consequently, the PostcodeLottery stopped all legal action against the StateLottery. " Now", the Commercial Director of the State Lottery, Pim Bomas, says, "there are no more legal obstacles and we could go ahead with our new lottery. In The Netherlands there is enough room to start other lotteries. A Dutch family spends an average of 200 Euro a year. In Spain they spend ten times more. And besides we target a different demographic."
However, again the PostcodeLottery went to court and lost the court case against Dayzers. The PostcodeLottery appealed to a higher court and is still waiting for a new judgment.
Website: www.lotto.nl
The financial results of the SNS (Stichting Nationale Sporttotalisator, cq Toto and Lotto) and the NIL (Nederlandse Instant Loterij, cq scratchcards) for the FY2000 were below expectations, especially in the year of the Olympics and the European Championship football, organized in The Netherlands and Belgium. The management hoped to reach a milestone with a turnover of 500 Million NLG*, however turnover came in slightly less at 490 Million NLG. In comparison with 1999 turnover was slightly higher, but the net result dropped nearly 13 Million NLG.
The turnover of Lotto and Toto increased 15% and 10% respectively. The Turnover of Lucky Day was stable. The sales of the scratchcards fell 18%.
| TOTO and LOTTO | 2000 | 1999 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenues | 324,161 | 282,654 |
| Minus: Prizes | 159,355 | 135,143 |
| Plus: Prizes reserve | 7,300 | |
| Minus:Direct sale costs | 15,955 | 13,012 |
| Net sales | 156,151 | 134,499 |
| Marketing- and sale costs | 40,881 | 31,967 |
| Personnel costs | 15,636 | 11,542 |
| Networkcosts | 15,458 | 13,454 |
| Acquisitions costs | 6,234 | 4,599 |
| Other operational expenses | 6,988 | 6,297 |
| Operating expenditure | 85,197 | 67,859 |
| Gross operating result | 70,954 | 66,640 |
| Financial charges | 194 | 62 |
| Several assets and liabilities | 185 | 55 |
| NET OPERATING RESULT | 71,333 | 6,647 |
| In the year 2000 the SNS paid out for good causes | 71,333 | |
| - Sports: | 52.430; | |
| - Charitas: | 18,903. |
| SCRATCHCARDS | 2000 | 1999 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenues | 161,559 | 199.428 |
| Minus: Direct sale costs | 12,055 | 14.578 |
| Net sales | 149.504 | 184.850 |
| Prizes | 77.606 | 97.131 |
| Marketing- and sales costs | 19,446 | 17,824 |
| Purchase- and networkcosts | 12,297 | 12,377 |
| Personnel costs | 4,300 | 3,933 |
| Acquisitions costs | 3,376 | 3,722 |
| Other operational expenses | 1,267 | 1,304 |
| Operating expenditure | 40,686 | 39,160 |
| Gross operating result | 31,212 | 48,559 |
| Financial charges | 335 | 257 |
| NET OPERATING RESULT | 31,547 | 44,816 |
| In the year 2000 the NIL (scratchcards) paid out for good causes | 31,547 | |
| - Sports: | 20,505 | |
| - Charitas: | 11,042 |
As from January 1st, 2001 the SNS (Lotto & Toto) and the NILhave merged completely under the name De Lotto. De Lotto has now a staff of 140 and has four product groups:
Products:
The new Management Board is headed by Wim van den Assem (Director of Operational Affairs) and Tjeerd Veenstra (director of External Relations), who is also member of The European State Lotteries and Toto Association Executive Committee (see picture). Above the Management Board is a Council Board (5 members) and Beneficiary Council (6 members).
* 1 Euro = 2.2 NLG
Website: www.hollandcasino.nl
The sole casino licence holder in The Netherlands is Holland Casino. In 2000 the turnover rose by 14% to 504.3 million Euros, for the first time passing the 500 million barrier. Net income rose 13.3% to 74.7 million Euros. All 11 Holland Casinos made contribution to the higher turnover, including the newest Casino which was only opened in September 2000. On October 1st, 1976, the first Holland Casino was opened. In 2002, in the city of Enschede, the 12th Holland Casino establishment will be opened. Then the total number of legal casinos will be completed.
The increase in turnover is mainly attributable to:
All locations contributed to the turnover growth, with particularly strong performances coming from the Holland Casinos at Schiphol Airport (25%) and seaside Scheveningen (16%). Compared to 1999 the number of visits in 2000 was up 5.0% to over 5.3 million. The traditional weekend peaks were maintained: more than half of the visits (53%) were made from Friday to Sunday. The Holland Casino in Utrecht accounted for just over half of the rise in visitor numbers. The largest increase in number of visits at existing locations was realised at Holland Casino Rotterdam with 5.6%.
A total of 172.8 Million Euros was paid over to the Dutch State in the 2000 reporting year. This amount consisted of two components, namely profit and tax. The profit less an addition to Equity ran to 67.4 Million Euros over 2000 (1999: 58.7 Million Euros). The gaming tax (33 1/3%) paid by Holland Casinos to the State on the table games result amounted to 76.0 Million Euros (1999: 67.1 Million Euros). The value added tax (17.5%) paid on the slot machine income and on the admission fees totalled 29.4 Million Euros in 2000 (1999: 25.2 Million Euros).
The income from foreign activities rose by 0.4 Million Euros to 1.5 Million Euros over 2000. A management contract, as concluded with the Swiss La Romande des Jeux, was concluded with Accento, an umbrella organisation for casinos in Lugano and Locarno in Switzerland. Existing management and know-how contracts in Spain and Sweden continued through 2000. The expiring contract with Casino Regina in Canada was once again extended. The renewed contract provides specifically for the delivery of general casino know-how, audit services and ICT (information & communication technology) support.
Figures in Millions of Euros, unless indicated otherwise
| 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balance Sheet | |||||
| Capital | 34.3 | 27.0 | 23.7 | 22.7 | 22.7 |
| Balance sheet total | 230.0 | 199.9 | 201.2 | 143.8 | 144.5 |
| Investments during the year | 64.4 | 28.4 | 78.6 | 37.2 | 28.3 |
| Cash Flow | 124.6 | 100.5 | 88.8 | 88.7 | 87.3 |
| Statement of income and expenditure | |||||
| Gross revenues | 504.3 | 442.4 | 404.0 | 370.0 | 334.7 |
| Taxes | 105.6 | 92.4 | 84.3 | 76.3 | 68.3 |
| Net revenues | 398.7 | 350.0 | 319.7 | 293.7 | 266.4 |
| Operating expenses | 318.8 | 278.9 | 255.4 | 227.5 | 202.7 |
| Interest charges | 5.2 | 5.2 | 4.2 | 2.6 | 2.5 |
| Total expenditure | 324.0 | 284.1 | 259.6 | 230.1 | 205.2 |
| Net operating result | 74.7 | 65.9 | 60.1 | 63.6 | 61.2 |
| Income categories as % of total | |||||
| Table games | 45 | 45 | 46 | 46 | 46 |
| Slot machines | 38 | 37 | 36 | 35 | 34 |
| Tips | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | - |
| Food & Beverage | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Other Income | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Personnel costs as % of expenditure | 57.2 | 60.1 | 58.9 | 60.0 | 60.1 |
| Net operating result as % of net income | |||||
| Profit margin | 18.7 | 18.8 | 18.8 | 21.7 | 23.0 |
| Employees at year-end | |||||
| Number of employees | 4,142 | 3,882 | 3,816 | 3,408 | 3,124 |
| Full-time equivalents | 3,559 | 3,266 | 3,197 | 2,873 | 2,667 |
| * Adjusted for purposes of comparison | |||||
The digital Holland Casino was also opened in September 2000 but has not yet made a contribution to the turnover. Its activities so far have been confined to an on-line practice or points game. The government is pursuing a cautious policy on the provision of gaming services for monetary stakes via internet. This fits in with the wider political debate about market forces, deregulation and quality of legislation which has not yet been completed in relation to the Gaming Act.
Website: www.bankgiroloterij.nl
It is easy to play with the BankGiroLoterij. With your bankaccount number or/and with your giroaccount number as lot number, you may play monthly for just 10 NLG. There is also a free Lucky Dog Lotnumber(GeluksVogelNummer) playing for a jackpot, which may rise to 12 million NLG.The BankGiroLoterij paid out in 2000 a total of 38 million NLG as prize money.
The BankGiroLoterij is licensed under license number LO700/0088/830.7, which was issued on December 19th 1997 to the SUFA, (Stichting Uitvoeringsorgaan Financiële Akties - Foundation Enforcement-body Financial Actions) and the ALN, Algemene Loterij Nederland (Dutch General Lottery). Jointly they organize the BankGiro Loterij. SUFA is responsible for operating the lottery and ALN is distributing the revenues to good causes. The beneficiaries, according to the Dutch Law, receive 60% of the turnover. For 40 years SUFA is collecting and distributing money to Dutch charity organisations. In this period nearly 3 billion NLG has been donated to foundations, organizations, funds and associations, who, on their turn develop activities for good causes. In 2000 charities received 89.2 million NLG.
Since three years BankGiroLoterij is sponsoring a professional cycling team. The last two years the BankGiroLoterij is the main sponsor.According to the General Manager, Mr. H.A Verhoef, of the BankGiro-Loterij, the choice for sponsoring a cycling team was easy:
"The three most popular sports in The Netherlands are football (soccer), ice skating and cycling. Football sponsoring is too expensive. And football clubs are regional. Ice-Skating is also too costly and above that the season is too short. So, we decided for a professional cycling racing team. Besides RTV broadcasts and daily written press coverage, there are many, cycling magazines, actual cycling sites, official cycling team sites, riders sites, teams and riders supporter sites and Tour Pool sites (Fantasy Games)."
Besides the professional cycling race team of BankGiroLottery, three other lottery operators in Europe use professional cycling as a promotionaltool:
In the last couple of years the BankGiro- Lottery discussed with other Dutch operators (a.o. StaatsLoterij and De Lotto) to merge.
Website: www.postcodeloterij.nl
In 2000, The Dutch Postcode lottery's turnover grew by 7 percent to a total of 579 million NLG. Of that, 60 percent, more than 350 million NLG, was donated to charity. The Dutch Postcode Lottery maintains its position as the number two lottery in the Netherlands and number one private fundraiser for good causes in the Netherlands.
The Nationale Postcode Loterij was established in 1989 by Novamedia as a vehicle to raise funds for charitable organizations dedicated to development, environment and human rights. In the first ten years of its existence the NPL grew to be the second largest lottery in the Netherlands, with 2.5 million households participating. Since it started, the lottery raised more than 1.2 billion euro's for its beneficiaries.
In the first years of its existence the NPL shook up the almost sedated Dutch lottery market with modern direct marketing techniques, and popular television game shows. The NPL introduced the first multimillion guilder prizes, introduced Jackpot prizes and was the first to issue a special end-of-year prize that is traditionally now awarded on January 1. This created a landslide on the market. However, the existing lotteries fought back by modernising their own marketing techniques. In the end the total lottery market in the Netherlands had expanded drastically, offering growth to both the existing and the new actors.
The NPL is a true community lottery, with many prizes that are shared between participants in the same narrow or wider postcode area. The Postcode Jackpot and the annual Kanjer prize consist of two parts: 50 percent goes to the participants in the narrow postcode area that wins and 50 percent is distributed in the wider postcode area.
For 2001 the NPL reports a growth of 11.6%. That year the lottery distributed 177 million euros among its beneficiaries, including the World Wide Fund for Nature, the Red Cross, UNICEF, Greenpeace and Amnesty International.
| Lottery income | 100% | 578,757,715 |
| Distributions to beneficiaries (= net income) | ||
| Refugee works: | 25,238,516 | |
| National Trust: | 35,000,000 | |
| Novib (Dutch organisation for international Development Cooperation): | 31,238,516 | |
| Foundation Doen: | 47,526,922 | |
| Médecins sans Frontières: | 31,238,516 | |
| World Wide Fund for Nature: | 36,238,516 | |
| UNICEF: | 31,238,516 | |
| Guaranteefund Postcode Lottery: | 112,600,000 | |
| Total Donations to Good Causes | 60.5% | 350,319,502 |
| Costs and prizemoney: | 39,5% | 228,438,213 |
| Expenses | ||
| Prizes | 23.7% | 137,042,497 |
| sponsored prizes | 0,6% | 3,641,900 |
| Personnel expenses: | 1.5% | 8,541,058 |
| Depreciation: | 0.2% | 1,306,974 |
| Organization costs: | 4.6% | 26,391,075 |
| Marketing costs: | 10.5% | 61,469,060 |
| Addition to general reserve | 0,1% | 394,322 |
| Total costs: | 40% | 231,503,086 |
| Result before financial income and expense: | 0.5% | 3,064,873 |
| Financial income and expense: | 0,5% | 3,064,873 |
| Balance | 0 | |
Website: www.sponsorbingoloterij.nl
The SponsorLoterij, which had a poor performance as an independent operator, was taken over by Novamedia in September 1998. In 2000 SponsorLoterij grew slightly from 109 million NLG to 111 million NLG, but consolidated the doubling of the turnover of 1999. The prize money for 2001 is 20.3 million NLG (18 percent) and the good causes received 66.9 Million NLG (60 percent).Since August 15, 2001, the Dutch SponsorLottery has been rejuvenated and renamed SponsorBingo Lottery. By the end of the year 2001 the number of tickets in the drawwas 1 million NLG. Also for the year 2001 there will be a significant growth in inturnover, which has been promoted by a very popular TV programme presented by two famous comedians. According to the annual survey into organizations dedicated to good causes, the Dutch Sponsor lottery is known to 74 percent of respondents, while another 53 percent of them appreciate its work. The survey shows that the Dutch Sponsor Lottery is the best loved lottery in the Netherlands.
Website: www.novamedia.nl
Novamedia, operating and participating in lotteries in Europe, Asia, North-America and South America is based in the heart of Amsterdam. On the ground floor in one of the many old and distinguished manorhouses, turned into offices, we meet the CEO Boudewijn Poelmann, 52. He is responsible for the daily hands-on management of the international operations in the Netherlands (National Postcode Lottery, NPL, and SponsorBingo Lottery), Uzbekistan (Ecolot), Sweden (BingoLotto), Germany (the German version of the Postcode Lottery), Netherlands Antilles (Goodlot) and Prince Edward Island, Canada (Earth Future Lottery, EFI, planning to start from February, 2002).
In 1983 Poelmann started, "in just a friend's room", a small marketing company: Novamedia. One year later Herman de Jong, now 53, joined the company. The two already knew each other from prestigious Nijenrode, the Dutch Business and Diplomat University, and later they went together to the University of Oregon, where they studied marketing. De Jong now handles financial matters for Novamedia. A few months later Frank Leeman, now 52, an aggressive and creative marketeer who introduced sweepstakes as a marketing technique, became the third partner in the company. Simon Jelsma, now 83, originally a catholic priest who Boudewijn Poelmann met when they were both working for a Dutch development organization, completed the "four-leaved clover" luck club. Jelsma was contracted due to his close relations with the good causes organizations and he should raise capital for Novamedia's clients.
Poelmann got sick of continuously running after money and got the idea of starting a lottery with telephone numbers. Just a couple of hours later he decided that a Lottery with Postcode numbers would be better. At that time the Dutch National Post was just starting to introduce the postcode numbers and they thought that sponsoring the Postcode Lottery would be a great tool to promote the postcodes awareness. Nearly at the same time commercial television matured in the Netherlands and program sponsoring became possible. Special Postcode Lottery-television shows added another successful dimension to get the Dutch players acquainted with this new, "aggressive" lottery.
The first draw of the National Postcode Lottery took place in December 1989 with a main prize twice as big as the monopolistic rival, the Dutch StateLottery, which by then had a dull and sleepy image. Direct marketing, accelerated by the possibilities of the new postcodes, was elevated by the founding "four aces" to a new science.
"Yes, that is true," Poelmann confirmed. "We have covered and canvassed the Netherlands with a 'mailing rolling-machine'. From the very start we were also able to personalize all our mailings. Now our information system has become the biggest and most detailed database in the Netherlands, with an automatic subscription collecting system and a special program for our telephonic help desk. Moreover, even from the very start we already had a good operating help desk."
In 2000 the turnover of National Postcode Lottery grew by 7 percent to a total of 578.8 million NLG*. Of that, 133.4 million NLG (23 percent) is prize money and 350.3 million NLG (61 percent) is going to charity. With this, the NPL maintains its position as the No. 2 lottery in the Netherlands and No. 1 private fund raiser for charity. The Dutch StateLottery topped in 2000 a turnover of 1,313 million NLG; 250.2 Million NLG (19 percent) goes to the exchequer and 876.2 million NLG (67 percent) is prize money. The Dutch population is 16 million. Per household the Dutch spent 388 NLG on lotteries and lottos in 2000.The starting point was to generate money for good causes. "We will stick to that formula," Poelmann explained. "Whatever lottery we start or take over, we will always work for beneficiaries." The Dutch Postcode Lottery has 7 regular beneficiaries and 28 smaller beneficiaries:
The Sponsor Lottery had in 2000 a turnover of 111,1 Million NLG, a growth of 2 percent. The prize money was 20.3 Million NLG (18 percent) and the good causes received 66.9 Million NLG (60 percent).
Since August 15, 2001, the Dutch SponsorLottery has been rejuvenated and renamed SponsorBingo Lottery. According to the annual survey into organizations dedicated to good causes, the Dutch Sponsor lottery is known to 74 percent of respondents, while another 53 percent of them appreciate its work. The survey shows that the Dutch Sponsor Lottery is the best loved lottery in the Netherlands.
Permanent Beneficiaries:
These four museums received 19.3 million NLG in 2000.
In November 1995 Novamedia launched a scratch-card lottery under the name Ecolot in Uzbekistan (population 24 million). The operator is Finoco, of which Novamedia holds 70 percent of the shares. The other shares are owned by Ecoson. The turnover in 2000 was 20 million NLG (60 percent of the total lottery market).
The next of Novamedia's acquisitions was in April 2001, when BingoLotto Sweden was bought from IGS. BingoLotto Sweden had a turnover of 350 million Euro in 2000. Over 2.2 million BingoLotto tickets are sold weekly via sales outlets in Sweden only. (Sweden has a population of 9 million.) Youth sports clubs sell between 40,000 to 50,000 tickets weekly. From those sales, 40 percent goes directly to those clubs. Forty percent of the ticket sales benefit good causes in Sweden and 48 percent of the turnover is prize money. The exact price for the takeover has not been disclosed by the two parties involved. However, news media in Sweden mentioned the amount of US$10 million.
Shares Selling
This Novamedia acquisition was made possible by selling 30 percent shares to Joop van den Ende, founder of the Endemol Entertainment Company. Van den Ende used his investment company Chios B.V. to purchase the shares. Chios B.V. paid 50 million NLG and guaranteed, according to several sources, another 150 million NLG for Novamedia's international growth strategy. After a career in the television industry that spanned a number of decades, van den Ende resigned his positions of vice chairman of the executive board of Endemol Entertainment and managing director of Joop van den Ende Producties at the end of May 2000. John de Mol and van den Ende, who controlled a majority of the ordinary shares of Endemol, sold their shares to Spanish Telefónica, which made them both billionaires in U.S. dollars. Telefónica valued Endemol at approximately 5.5 billion Euro*. New shareholder Joop van der Ende knows the lottery industry very well, since his company produced TV programs for all the Dutch lottery operators, as well as for other operators throughout Europe. Above that he stays in the picture with the German market, which has approximately 82 million inhabitants, because Endemol is the leading TV production company in Germany. And Novamedia will conquer the German lottery market soon.
Early in 2002, GoodLot was launched. GoodLot NV is established in and operated from Curaçao. The advantages of Curaçao, a part of the Netherlands Antilles and an independent part of the Dutch Kingdom, at least concerning the making and implementation of laws, are numerous. The Dutch gambling legislation is not violated and acquiring a license may be realized on short term: As outlined by the legislation: "For the performance of gaming activities from the Netherlands Antilles by means of utilityline services, a license pursuant to the National Ordinance Offshore Games of Hazard (Official Gazette 1993, no. 63) shall be required, to be granted by the Governor of the Netherlands Antilles."
Other conditions are:
GoodLot received from the Ministry of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles on Jan. 17, 2001, a so called "master gaming license," number 30. Above that, Minister of Justice Rutsel Martha wrote a supportive and informative letter to Netherlands Gaming Control Board. A Netherlands Antilles license has even more advantages. As stated in the legislation: "The profit tax for offshore and tax holiday enterprises amounts to between 2 percent and 3 percent per annum pursuant to the National Ordinance on Profit Tax 1940 (O.G. 1965, no. 58) and the National Ordinance to Promote the Establishment of Businesses and the Construction of Hotels (O.G. 1953, no. 194)."
** 1 Antillian Guilder (ALN) = 0.56180 US Dollar (USD)
GoodLot
GoodLot Partners are:
Oracle Corporation, USA (Nasdaq: ORCL) - Oracle Corporation is the world's leading supplier of software for information management, and the world's second largest independent software company. With annual revenues of more than $10.9 billion, the company offers its database, tools and application products, along with related consulting, education, and support services, in more than 145 countries around the world.
BEA Systems, USA (Nasdaq: BEAS) - BEA Systems Inc is one of the world's leading e-business infrastructure software companies. BEA WebLogic (R) E-Business Platform, a single infrastructure solution with complete application management, portal, integration and Web Services capabilities, was chosen by GoodLot.com. The BEA WebLogic E-Business PlatformTM was selected over other platforms because it can efficiently scale to handle huge volumes of secure transactions. GoodLot.com estimates that in 2002 it will host more than 20,000 transactions a day.
SureFire Commerce Inc., Canada (TSE: FIR) - SureFire Commerce Inc. delivered to Goodlot.com its full suite of online payment products and will now accept and settle payments in 30 world currencies, including the U.S. Dollar, the Canadian Dollar, the Euro, the French Franc, the German Mark and the Sterling Pound. The company can now process in more currencies than any other payment processor in the world. It has integrated this expanded currency capability into its payment enabling solutions, including its business and personal accounts. SureFire business accounts enable businesses to accept credit cards, debit cards and FirePay personal accounts on their site. The FirePay personal account is an electronic payment account that consumers can securely fund from a variety of sources - including Visa, MasterCard and electronic checks - and use to pay for products and services on the Web without having to divulge sensitive credit card information.SureFire Commerce Inc. is a global provider of secure online payment solutions and e-commerce support, processing over $1.2 billion of online transactions annually. The company specializes in payment solutions in three core areas: Internet payment processing for online merchants, bill presentment and payment processing for physical businesses, and corporate billing solutions. The company's online payment solutions are marketed to consumers and merchants through strategic partnerships with companies that have significant brand recognition and distribution channels. It's headquartered in Montreal with offices in Hull, Quebec and London, England. SurefireCommerce has been chosen as GoodLot's payment provider, based on the secured way payments are being processed and their complementary fraud detection system.
NMi Certin B.V., Netherlands - NMi is a group of companies active in measurement, calibration, testing, certification, training and consulting related to metrology and technology. It's a wholly owned subsidiary of Holland Metrology N.V., which is owned by TNO. The company certifies drawings for GoodLot.com to assure that each player has equal chances in the drawings. NMi guarantees that only certified drawing systems are used by GoodLot. NMi is an independent testing and certification institute in the Netherlands. With respect to gaming activities, the company certifies equipment like slot machines, lotteries, roulette cylinders and big wheels. Additionally, the company inspects and/or certifies procedures and quality systems to assure right operation of manufacturers, casino's and lotteries.
PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG also deliver their services to GoodLot. During the development of the GoodLot.com site and the back office application, KPMG Information Risk Management was involved in the definition of security and availability requirements and has been auditing the implementation of these requirements.
The local division of PricewaterhousCoopers has supported GoodLot's organizational development on Curaçao, including the set up of finance and control systems. The startup costs of the GoodLot Internet project mounted US$6 million. The Web site is offered in English. German, Russian, Turkish and Chinese versions will be added. The company estimates that 250,000 lottery tickets will be sold in the first month and that this number will climb to 500,000 within three months.
De GoodLot beneficiaries are: UNICEF, n(o)vib (Oxfam International), WWF, Green Peace, Amnesty International, Plan (before Fosters Parents Plan) en Birdlife. Further, there is a GoodLot fund, where the GoodLot ambassadors may decide to which projects the funds are going.
De GoodLot Ambassadors are:
Prizes
The following tickets are for sale: Day ticket (10$, 2 chances), Week ticket (60$, 15 chances), Month ticket (200$, 192 chances) and the Year Jackpot ticket (130$, 53 chances). The jackpot will be drawn from 109,575,000 numbers, will start at US$100,000 and will grow in relation to the number of tickets sold. The jackpot will be drawn at least once a year. According to the information on the GoodLot Web site, 45 percent of the laid-in moneys will be prize money. Players from the Netherlands Antilles, the Netherlands and Sweden are not allowed to participate in the new Internet lottery. A witty play on Intel's slogan, GoodLot expresses at its Web site: "Integrity inside." The GoodLot motto: The whole world wins!
Novamedia has been trying to enter the German market since 1992. And until November 9th, 2001, Novamedia was planning to start with the German version of the Postcode Lottery, the 'Deutsche Postkode Lotterie'. After suing the governments of the German Bundes Länder (land states) for the last eight years, Novamedia has acquired the license to operate in Niedersachsen (7.8 million inhabitants), Berlin (3,4 million), Bremen (0.7 million) and Bayern (12.1 million). Further, courts found that that NordRhein-Westfalen (18.0 million) and Hamburg (1.7 million) should grant a license to Novamedia to operate the
German version of the PostcodLottery. And according to Poelmann Thüringen (2,5 million) will follow soon. Novamedia had to postpone its launch in Germany after the federal state of Hessen passed a bill which would make it nearly impossible to get a license, and, according to the equal rights principle, other German states could adopt that bill as well. The German version on the Postcode Lottery is planning to work in close cooperation with the following nine partners and beneficiaries:
Novamedia has become a strategic partner of the Earth Future Lottery of Canada. The Earth Future Lottery will be operated to generate money for the Earth Fund, a well known Canadian fund canvassing organization for human rights, nature and the environment.The Earth Future Lottery is established on Prince Edward Islands in Canada. Novamedia, a 50 percent partner, will play an assisting role only in the marketing and the promotion department. Forty-two percent of the inlay will go to good causes. Players will have a daily, weekly and monthly chance at winning prizes ranging from US$50,000 to $1 million. Smaller prizes range from $1,000 to $25,000. Prizes will be drawn from tickets sold, guaranteeing that they'll make a millionaire twice every month.
Before the company can move forward with the Earth Future Lottery, however, there are legal matters to settle in Canada. The government of Prince Edward Island (PEI) has filed a reference in the Supreme Court of PEI (Appeal Division) to obtain a ruling on whether the Earth Fund's lottery license is legal. The reference is in response to an action filed in Ontario on Sept. 7, 2000 by the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation, claiming the Internet-based Earth Future Lottery would violate the Criminal Code. According to Novamedia, the court will make a decision before February 2002.
Another project which should already have been launched by Nova media is the Swiss version of the Postcode Lottery. After a long during lawsuit Novamedia obtained a permit to start to operate their Swiss "baby." An appeal against the court decision will however cause at least another delay of one or even one-and-half years.
Opposition
"We have suffered tremendous opposition in Germany and in Switzerland," Poelmann said. "They may stop us temporarily, but we will succeed in the end. Not only in Germany and Switzerland, but all over Europe. At this moment we look for more possibilities in Scandinavia and Turkey will also give us a huge market possibility with its population of 67 million. Turkey will become an European Union member. Now Milli Piyango is still a state-ran monopolist and we will like to bust that. The Postcode Lottery will become a great Dutch export product. We have also tried to buy internet lottery PlusLotto in Liechtenstein, but that did not work out."
Europe
"The introduction of the Euro from the first of January 2002 will give a lot of new opportunities for international operators and in particular for international lottery players. They will finally get a possibility to compare the prizes and chances from betting companies throughout the European continent. Making international payments will become a lot easier as well. The Euro will create a great market for us," Poelmann said.
Austria, Belgium, Finland France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain will make a one-currency market of 292 million people. "And I think more European countries will join soon," he continued.
"In Europe the monopolistic operators have to either copy the USA powerball developments or they have to merge over the boarders, because money prizes will go up. And operators in small European countries with their small markets will get hard times," Poelmann predicted. However, he still sees growing potential in the Netherlands.
He continued, "Yes, the betting market is now 2.4 billion NLG, in a couple of years the Dutch market will be 10 billion NLG." In 2000 the turnover of the lotteries operated by Novamedia was 1.5 billion NLG and the turnover of Novamedia marked 45 million NLG. The total number of staff is 450-300 of them are female.
Website: www.autotote.nl
From July 1st, 1998 Autotote obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries and the Ministry of Justice the exclusive permission to operate the Dutch Horse Betting.Under the name 'Champions' para-mutual betting is offered by more than 50 betting locations in the Netherlands. The Autotote Corporation, the leading para-mutual company in the world, took over the Scientific Games Holdings, a well-known instant lottery ticket company. Subsequent to the completion of the acquisition in September of 2000, the merged company changed its name to Scientific Games Corporation (AMEX: SGM).
Scientific Games Corporation is made up of four groups, a number of which are the leading competitors in their respective fields. Scientific Games International is the top integrated supplier of instant tickets, validation systems and facilities management services to lotteries. Autotote Systems is the largest supplier of wagering systems and services to racetracks and off-track facilities. Autotote Enterprises is a licensed pari-mutuel operator in Connecticut providing off-track venues for patrons to watch horse racing and/or place bets. The company is also a licensed pari-mutuel operator in Holland and Germany. Telecommunication products utilizes our instant ticket technology to produce prepaid wireless phone cards for major telecommunications companies.
Autotote Systems Inc, a Scientific Games Corporation subsidiary, provides the products and services that allow patrons all over the globe to place a wager, watch races, and collect their pay out after the race has finished. Autotote is a full-service wagering systems and service provider. Pari-mutuel operations are fully integrated such that they can provide customers with "one stop shopping" for wagering, simulcasting and voice/data telecommunication services.
Since 1965, Autotote Systems Inc. has been providing totalisator systems and services in North America and internationally. Over 100 racing and wagering operations in North America are powered by our tote systems, including 10 of the top 15 thoroughbred racetracks and 10 of the 12 largest OTB networks.
And through it's participation in the TrackPlay- joint venture, Autotote develops, markets, and supports an Internet-based wagering product which is available to the extent permitted by law to our racetrack customers. This Internet application complements the interactive wagering products and services already offered by Autotote, including telephone wagering, interactive voice response systems and personal account wagering terminals.
Through Autotote Communications, Autotote provides customers with the satellite broadcasting services that allow fans at racing facilities all over the globe to watch races in real-time.
With NASRIN, the North American Simulcast Racing Information Network, Autotote supplies the data and voice communications systems wagering operators use to process wagering data efficiently and virtually without interruption.Within Europe, Autotote International maintains operations in major markets such as France, Ireland and the Netherlands. A ten-year agreement to service the harness and thoroughbred racetracks in Germany encompasses all of the racing performances each year. Under this agreement, Autotote's pari-mutuel group of companies provides an array of services including the broadcast and marketing of German racing signals throughout Germany and abroad, a national telephone betting system, upgraded and centralized Totalisator services, and interfaces to Internet wagering, cable and direct TV. In Europe Autotot is serving the horse betting in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, England, Ireland, Cyprus, Tuekey and Finland.In the Netherlands 70 % of the totalwagered bets is payed as prizemoney. This percentage is the highest of all Dutch games of chance.
Website: www.bwirelezz.com
Bwirelezz was founded in May 2000 by managers from companies such as Amazon.com, Compaq, Citibank, Ericsson and LibertySurf who believed in the enormous potential of mobile e-business. Bwirelezz develops a software platform and tailor-made solutions that allow businesses to communicate, and perform transactions via mobile devices, using voice and data. Bwirelezz partners with Sun Microsystems, Hewlett Packard and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The company has a staff of 15 and offices in Amsterdam and Stockholm.
Bwirelezz open wireless platform enables casinos, sports book, gaming and interactive gaming platform companies to grow their sales and profits by offering an on-air extension to an existing gambling and betting back-end. In addition to any time, any place, gambling, the wireless front-end allows interactive gaming companies to reach new customers, increase brand awareness and offer differentiating services to their customers BMAP allows businesses and system integrators to set up a mobile game playing environment quickly and cost effectively. BMAP connects to existing gambling and betting systems. The scalable, modular, structure allows gaming, gambling and betting companies to communicate and transact with their customers through any device. Bwirelezz helps businesses take advantage of the opportunities of the mobile Internet in Europe, the Americas and Asia with staff from 10 different nationalities. Bwirelezz Solutions Group helps businesses and betting/gambling software vendors to take full advantage of the opportunities of the mobile Internet.