Petra de Ruiter took over Holland Casino after the Dutch legal online market opened in 2021. She spent 24 years in aviation before that, including at Transavia. The state monopoly runs 13 land-based casinos with 4,000 staff and marks its 50th anniversary this year. The main challenge is rising tax: from 1 January 2025 the rate climbed to 34.2% of GGR, then to 37.8% in 2026. Combined with labour tax, the company hands the state around 52% before covering operating costs.
Holland Casino responded by restructuring head office and testing new formats — expanding the Next Zone area and introducing double zero roulette, which the country had not seen before. De Ruiter stresses you cannot simply change RTP because it conflicts with responsible gaming. The company keeps online and offline player bases separate (cross-promotion is illegal) but combines the data for player protection.
War on unlicensed operators
Holland Casino belongs to industry body VNLOK, which represents 90% of licensed operators. A lawsuit has been filed against Meta: around 70,000 ads from unlicensed operators run through the platform each month versus 2,000 to 3,000 from legal ones. This week state lottery Nederlandse Loterij demanded offshore brand Skyhills stop serving Dutch customers.
De Ruiter says competition between licensed operators is no longer the main issue — the sector has united against the black market. 'People will always gamble, so we need a strong legal market. An unregulated market will not become safe. We need to be given space to exist,' she says. Holland Casino's online share has fallen since launch, but the brand retains positive perception even as Dutch public sentiment towards gambling remains critical.
