程阳：2014年荷兰(娱乐场)赌场业综述

  【中文原文全文】  Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people)

 

Holland Casino operates 14 casinos in Zandvoort, Amsterdam, Breda, Eindhoven, Enschede, Groningen, Leeuwarden, Nijmegen, Rotterdam, Scheveningen, Schiphol Airport (for air passengers only), Utrecht, Valkenburg and Venlo.

 

Revenues at Holland Casino’s 14 properties declined by 6.4 percent in 2013 compared with the same period a year before.

 

The €476m in recorded gross gaming revenues marked a worsening pattern of decline that has been unbroken since 2007 when revenues peaked at €756.7m.

 

Dutch slot revenues slumped by 7.9 percent in 2013 to €245m, while table games fared less badly, losing 4.2 percent of their hold to bring in €209m.

 

1.13m players made just over 5.4m visits to Holland Casino venues in 2013, nearly 200,000 visits fewer than the preceding year, and average spend per visitor declined from €97 in 2012 to €93 in 2013.

 

The state-owned monopoly operator shed in excess of 400 additional jobs across its properties, leaving 2,621 full-time employees and a total of 3,292 employees.

 

In July 2014 the Dutch Council of Ministers agreed draft legislation that schedules the privatisation of Holland Casino for 2017 and calls for the introduction of online licensing with a base tax rate of 20 percent. The legislation is set to go before parliament later in 2014.

 

 

Economic Situation

 

In November 2013 Holland became the latest eurozone member to be stripped of its triple A credit rating by Standard & Poor’s (S&P), the credit rating agency, which cited weakening growth prospects for its decision to downgrade the country. S&P cited weaker growth prospects and a real GDP per capita trend growth rate persistently lower than that of its peers. S&P noted that real economic output would likely not return to 2008 levels before 2017.

 

The Netherlands, which is the eurozone’s fifth-largest economy, continues to suffer from the bursting of a housing bubble, rising unemployment and weak consumer spending.

 

According to the European Commission’s forecasts, the Dutch economy is expected to start growing in 2014 at 0.2 percent, following a 1 percent contraction in 2013.

 

 

Regulator

 

The Dutch Gaming Authority, an independent supervisory body, is responsible for the regulation and control of the gambling market in the Netherlands, as well as for the licensing of operators.

 

The Dutch Gaming Authority was installed on April 1, 2012, financed through contributions and levies from the gambling operators. Responsibility for gambling policy lies with the Ministry of Security and Justice. The watchdog is tasked with closely cooperating with foreign regulators and acts as a “knowledge centre” for the public and authorities such as addiction care centres. The authority also maintains an updated register of self-excluded players.

 

In terms of enforcement measures, the authority is able to impose administrative fines of up to €760,000, or 10 percent of the company’s turnover. Multiple fines for the same offence may be given in certain circumstances.

 

The Licensed Casino Market

 

On December 17, 1975 the only casino licence in the Netherlands was formally awarded for an indefinite period of time to De Nationale Stichting tot Exploitatie van Casinospelen in Nederland, the official statutory name of Holland Casino. Holland Casino opened its first casino in Zandvoort in 1976.

 

Subsequently, another 13 casinos were opened in Amsterdam, Breda, Eindhoven, Enschede, Groningen, Leeuwarden, Nijmegen, Rotterdam, Scheveningen, Schiphol Airport (for air passengers only), Utrecht, Valkenburg and Venlo.

 

Dutch gambling law is restrictive in nature, but past governments have received serious setbacks to this policy. First, the European Commission instigated infringement proceedings regarding the monopoly on sports betting in 2006. The Dutch Senate also rejected the proposal for a new state monopoly on online gambling in 2008.

 

In October 2012 the newly-elected Dutch liberal-labour coalition government signed an agreement to “modernise” the online gambling industry over the next four years and to restrict illegal activities setting up a licensing framework.

 

In July 2014 the Dutch Council of Ministers approved draft legislation that schedules the privatisation of Holland Casino for 2017, lowers mandatory contribution rates for charity lotteries and proposes the licensing of online gambling at a base tax rate of 20 percent - lower than the 29 percent rate currently applied to land-based gambling activities.

 

The legislation will go before the Dutch parliament later in 2014. Preparations for privatising Holland Casino and for the opening of Holland’s land-based gambling market have started and are still in an early stage.

 

In October 2013 Holland Casino was placed in guardianship by its lenders over debts of €60m (£50.5m), obliging the company to make restructuring changes at the request of the banks.

 

 

“We will modernise the gambling policy. Online gambling, sports betting and poker events will be strictly regulated. This will reduce the illegal offers of gambling. Observance of the licensing conditions will be strictly monitored. Offering gambling is not a core issue for the government, that is why Holland Casino will be sold under certain conditions.”

 

Coalition Agreement on Gambling Modernisation, October 29, 2012

 

As a result of the pending changes, Holland Casino has adopted a transition strategy ahead of an expected opening of the market for games of chance between 2016-2017, when a limited number of casino licences are expected to be issued.

 

• The focus on regular guests and principles of customer care policy remain unaltered.

• Local entrepreneurship has been supported and each casino is now responsible for its own performance.

• To create a more economically and efficiently functioning organisation, the head office has been restructured, along with the casinos themselves, and the investment strategy has been rationalised. The casino group posted a record loss of €22.3m in 2013, in a slumping economy.

• Holland Casino has been in talks with its unions about job cuts and agreements on new working practices, and in April 2014 reached an agreement with unions over voluntary redundancies; restructuring will help the company reduce losses.

• A plan for voluntary lay-offs agreed between management and unions would cut 150 to 200 jobs, of nearly 4,000 overall.

 

 

“We have to cut our personnel to cut losses,” said Holland Casino spokeswoman Isabel van Enckevort.

 

 Poker

 

Casino War, Texas Hold’em Poker and 4 Card Poker have all been made available in the casinos of Holland Casino as of June 2013, following an amendment made to the Casino Games and Game Rules 2000.

 

 

Contributions to Society

 

Holland Casino seeks to play a positive and responsible role in society.

 

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) forms an integral part of the Holland Casino policy and each department contributes to the overall CSR ambition.

 

This strategy is based on seven CSR spearheads, both with a short and long-term ambition.

 

Main points are:

• Safe and responsible game mix.

• Corporate integrity.

• Open communication.

• Responsible employer.

• Involvement with society.

• Sustainable procurement.

• Sustainable casinos.

 

A safe and responsible gaming offering by Holland Casino does not stand isolated from other objectives and the firm consistently reviews its efforts in relation to other areas.

 

Holland Casino is a company with its focus on people, which is manifest in the company’s safe and responsible game mix. Holland Casino strives to offer guests a pleasurable night out and to reduce the risks of the game in safe surroundings.

 

Gaming must be offered in a fair and impeccable manner, gaming equipment should be in order and guests should feel safe and secure when visiting a casino.

 

Open communication entails regular consultation with relevant stakeholders about their expectations regarding safe and responsible gaming. Holland Casino values their views and shares relevant information and opinions to encourage further development of the policy.

 

 

Holland Casino employs nearly 4,000 people, both full- and part-time, the majority of which work under a collective agreement, and seeks to be a responsible and well-liked employer.

 

Holland Casino is a major buyer of goods and services at local, national and European level, creating numerous direct and indirect jobs in different industries.

 

Holland Casino’s staff are also actively involved in the local environment. Using the “lost and found funds” made available by Holland Casino, they support various local and national charities.

 

The procurement office deals with the suppliers whereby sustainability is taken to heart when buying all sorts of products, taking into account human and environmental interests.

 

Human and environmental issues are also the two focal points when it comes to the administration of Holland Casino properties.

 

Holland Casino reports on the basis of the Breeam methodology and, every year, has reduced its CO2 footprint, which fell to a level of just over 21 tons in 2012.

 

Social Responsibility Measures

 

2014 has brought new legislation which applies to marketing campaigns. Under the new rules, operators have to very clearly inform customers about the risks of gambling in their campaigns.

 

New legal regulations requiring training for player protection have also been introduced. The changes, dating from 2013, had already been indirectly included in the licence of Holland Casino and directly in its operational policy.

 

On the basis of the gaming law statute, Holland Casino runs an intensive responsible gambling policy, not just as a consequence of the official rules but also because Holland Casino as a company feels a social responsibility.

 

The policy is aimed at monitoring Holland Casino’s guests, recognising problematic behaviour, taking preventive measures and providing active intervention and referral to addiction prevention agencies for guests showing true problematic behaviour.

 

To make the policy work, all staff are trained by experts from gambling addiction agencies. Training courses are given at different levels.

 

There is basic training for all staff, a training course for managers who do the host/prevention interviews and advanced training for all security and legal staff.

 

National legislation in Holland requires all customers to be at least 18 years of age.

 

 

Taxation

 

Changes to the Dutch gaming tax regime in July 2008 effectively doubled the tax rate for gaming machine income, while lowering the tax for table games.

 

Tax revenues in Holland from casino gaming peaked in 2007 and have declined ever since.

 

In the Netherlands, an operator located in the country providing offline casino games, slot machines and all online games is liable to a gambling tax of 29 percent of its gross gaming revenues (GGR) (difference between the stakes received and the prizes awarded to the participants).

 

If a Dutch player plays online on a site based outside the Netherlands, the player is liable to a 29 percent tax based on gross earnings per month.

 

 Remote Gambling

 

In 2009, the Dutch Ministry of Justice created an advisory committee, known as the “Jansen Commission”, to address the question of whether the Netherlands should regulate online gambling.

 

On the basis of those recommendations the Dutch government pushed ahead with the creation of a new regulatory structure and in 2013 the secretary of justice, Fred Teeven, revealed long-awaited government plans for regulating online gambling.

 

Following notification to the European Commission’s Council of State, the Dutch Council of Ministers approved the legislation in July 2014. The law will go before Parliament later in 2014.

 

Assuming the process continues at a vigorous pace, Holland Casino anticipates the first licences will be granted by mid-2015.

 

Under the proposed bill, unlimited licences would become available for a wide range of online games. The games covered by the bill are poker, casino games, gaming machine games and sport bets (fixedodds, exchange betting or pari-mutuel betting, live betting) while lotteries are excluded.

 

In accordance with the government’s prioritisation of addiction prevention, the bill establishes “strict rules and conditions to prevent addiction and fraud and ensure effective supervision of compliance”.

 

There will be no limit as to the number of licences issued, and each will run for a five-year period, with licence fees expected to be set in the range of €35,000-€50,000.

 

A central database will be set up in which all players will be registered who are banned from land-based casinos, arcades or online operations, and a central addiction fund will be created.

 

The government has maintained that a low level of taxation for online gambling is essential to dissuade people from turning to illegal providers.

 

The draft legislation calls for gaming tax for landbased operations to be maintained at 29 percent while the proposal for online is 20 percent, a differential taxation proposal which has drawn strong objections from Dutch casinos and arcades.