Dutch Lotto Provider Intralot Receives World Lottery Association Certification

Dutch gambling laws ensure that all gambling in the Netherlands is controlled by a small handful of companies. Holland Casino operates all casino style games, including poker and blackjack. Lotteries and sports betting are monopolized by Dutch lotteries De Lotto and De Nederlandse Staatsloterij. These two lottery groups also offer services that let players bet on sports in the Netherlands.

Dutch lottery providers are both tied to a central system that is run by Greek gambling group Intralot. Their Dutch subsidiary, Intralot Netherlands BV, signed a seven-year contract with both companies in April 2008 to provide the technological foundation for their lottery and sports betting services. Together, these two lottery groups offer their services across nearly 6,000 terminals throughout Holland.

A recent press release announced that Intralot Netherlands has received a prestigious security certification from World Lottery Association (WLA). The WLA has been assessing and certifying lottery operators around the world since 2008, when Intralot Greece became the first certified lottery vendor.

According to the WLA website, “The World Lottery Association Security Control Standards are the security standards for lottery operations. Certification against the standards proves that your security system has been measured against a best practice and found compliant.”

Neither De Lotto nor De Nederlandse Staatsloterij currently offers internet gambling in Holland. A newspaper article published in Dutch newspaper Telegraaf in early October 2010 implied that the government is in the process of opening up the country’s online gambling sector to foreign competition, but no official announcements have been made.