Novamedia, a company operating lottery in five European countries, announced its decision to stop investing in online gaming in the Netherlands. The company said that the regulations in the country make it impossible to raise funds.
Novamedia, which is the owner and developer of the Postcode Lottery format, launched iGaming in the Netherlands following the legalization of online gambling in the country.
The company’s online brand, Novamedia Gaminb BV, secured a license back in 2022. Unfortunately, Novamedia said, the market has been getting more tightly regulated to the point of becoming unsustainable for iGaming companies.
Novamedia said that it is no longer able to raise funds in the Netherlands and will therefore “make no further investments” in its Dutch online gaming operations. Instead, Novamedia will focus on exploring new opportunities from within its safe lotteries.
Novamedia has therefore decided to continue exploring opportunities for innovation from within its safe lotteries themselves and, for the time being, to make no further investment in the opportunities that online gaming could offer in the Netherlands.
Novamedia statement
In the meantime, Novamedia will continue seeking to obtain lottery licenses in other key markets.
The Netherlands, on the other hand, is on track with its plans to ban untargeted gambling advertising. The country believes that way too many minors and at-risk people are being bombarded with ads.
Novamedia’s lotteries are currently active in five European countries. The company, also known as Postcode Lottery Group, was founded more than 32 years ago. Within a little more than three decades, Novamedia has managed to raise a whopping $13.7 billion for good causes.
Novamedia recognizes the crucial role of charities in tackling important national and global challenges and believes that it is important to “futureproof” the charity lottery sector and “super-charge” the growth of the vital funding stream.
Novamedia is not happy with the severe limits imposed on charity lotteries. The company believes that removing the restrictions on charity lottery fundraising will free up more money for good causes, helping charity organizations help people who have been impacted by war, crises and disasters.
Novamedia said that it is committed to innovating and channeling players toward its lotteries. This, in turn, will help the company secure more funding for good causes.
The company concluded that it was able to donate a record sum of $936 million to hundreds of charities in 2022 alone. This was all made possible by its record-breaking lottery sales.