Swedish-headquartered Betsson has terminated its agreement to acquire Holland Gaming Technology and Holland Power Gaming, opting instead to pursue other business opportunities.
In February 2024, Betsson had agreed to buy the Netherlands-licensed operator Holland Gaming and games studio Holland Power Gaming for a deal valued at €27.5 million ($31.4 million).
The completion of this dual acquisition was contingent on approval from the Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA). However, Betsson decided to withdraw from the deal as KSA did not issue a decision by the predetermined long-stop date.
Consequently, the purchase price, with the deduction of the break fee, will be returned to Betsson. Overall, the group will receive back €26.7 million. Betsson has stated that this reversal will not have any significant impact on its consolidated income statement.
### Does Betsson have a future in the Netherlands?
The transaction would have marked Betsson’s re-entry into the regulated Dutch market. Under the agreement, Holland Power Gaming was to continue supplying games exclusively to Holland Gaming Technology.
Betsson had been pursuing its own license in the Netherlands but withdrew its application in July 2023 due to “significant delays” in the approval process.
Betsson had previously operated in the country but has been dormant since it exited the market in September 2021, just one day before the launch of the Dutch regulated iGaming market.
At that time, Betsson expressed hope that its withdrawal would enable a future entry into the country’s legal market. Operating iGaming without a license could lead to disciplinary actions, potentially affecting future license applications to operate legally in the market.
Interestingly, in March, a court case resulted in Betsson being ordered by the Rotterdam District Court to repay more than €500,000 to a customer who lost funds gambling on websites that were unlicensed at the time, tracing back to an incident from 2014 when iGaming was illegal in the Netherlands.
Following the withdrawal from the acquisition deal, Betsson will be refunded €26.7 million.