Holland Casino Rotterdam and Amsterdam-West will soon no longer be open 24/7
Holland Casino Rotterdam and Holland Casino Amsterdam-West are currently still open 24/7, but that will change from 1 January 2025. The management of the State participation has decided that both locations will be closed between 5:00 and 10:30. Holland Casino believes that being open 24/7 may no longer fit in with the social expectations of the casino chain. It is not ruled out that the opening hours of other locations will also change.
A number of local websites, but also Casinonieuws.nl, reported that the opening hours of Holland Casino Rotterdam and Amsterdam-West will change. While both locations are currently open 24/7, this will change as of 1 January 2025. Casinonieuws spoke to Holland Casino spokesperson Ilan Sluis spoken and he says the following about the change:
“The insight that 24/7 may no longer fit in with social expectations of Holland Casino has been around for some time. However, the decision to stop 24/7 or not had to be made carefully. Holland Casino therefore conducted research in various areas (prevention, impact on guests, business economic consequences) and then sought coordination with various directly involved parties. This took some time. But we are pleased that this decision has now been made and can be made known.”
If the works council agrees, the new opening hours will take effect from 1 January 2025. The same article also contains a quote from the outgoing mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb “I am pleased with this outcome. Holland Casino’s proposal to break with the 24/7 concept and set a new standard for prevention of gambling addiction is a step in the right direction. It shows that a party affiliated with the government is taking its responsibility.”
Problems due to increase in gambling tax
These are tough times for Holland Casino. Thanks to the upcoming increase in gambling tax, the company needs to achieve a much higher turnover in order to keep the same profit. In order to achieve this, the costs will also have to come down. In order to achieve this, several branches may even have to close. The company has also indicated that it will look at more aggressive advertising campaigns to attract more visitors to the casinos. This suggestion has caused a lot of resistance from politicians and the first parliamentary questions have already been asked.
