Nederlandse Loterij incurs €8m loss after 2025 tax hit
CEO Arjan Blok said that there was “consequently a clear decline in net profit compared to 2024”, also describing 2025 as a year which was “financially more difficult” than previous ones. “The increase in gambling tax, the first full year with stricter playing limits for online gambling, and additional restrictions such as the ban on sports sponsorship and tobacco sales have had a visibly negative impact on our earning capacity.”
The Nederlandse Loterij remains ‘financially sound’, according to its Chief Executive Officer, after taking some heavy hits from taxation in 2025.
The Dutch national lottery operator published an annual report for 2025 yesterday, revealing a loss of €8m (£6.9m) after taxes and remittances from licensing.
CEO Arjan Blok said that there was “consequently a clear decline in net profit compared to 2024”, also describing 2025 as a year which was “financially more difficult” than previous ones.
“The increase in gambling tax, the first full year with stricter playing limits for online gambling, and additional restrictions such as the ban on sports sponsorship and tobacco sales have had a visibly negative impact on our earning capacity,” Blok remarked.
He added: “Although we remain financially sound, this development underscores the challenges we face and the importance of a stable and predictable policy framework to safeguard our societal contribution in the longer term.”
The Netherlands stands out as having one of the highest tax rates on gross gambling revenue in Europe. The figure rose again on 1 January 2026 to 37.8% of gambling revenue, while in 2025 the Nederlandse Loterij and others were subject to a 34.2% tax rate.
The Nederlandse Loterij claims that taxation has impacted its earnings by around 25%. On top of this, there are also many regulations to consider, not least a July 2025 ban on sports sponsorship – the expansion of a clampdown on marketing initiated the year prior.
This ban curbed the marketing capabilities of its TOTO sports betting brand. Other regulatory difficulties cited by the firm include new limits on online gambling stakes introduced in October 2024, and a July 2024 ban on selling tobacco in supermarkets, which it claims reduced traffic to its retail channels.
Last year’s figures leave a lot to be desired for the lottery. Net revenue dropped from €724m to €661m), a result of overall total stakes falling from €6bn to €5.14bn. The net loss of €8m was a huge flip from profit of €31m in 2024.
Despite this, the lottery has found some area to celebrate. It returned €200.6m to various societal causes, including €126.4m paid towards government initiatives, €53.8m paid into sports, and €20.4m to 18 specific charities including Oranje Fonds, Cultuurfonds, and the KWF Dutch Cancer Society.
“We are aware that this is a clear mandate for ourselves,” he said. “That is why we started rolling out our new strategy as early as 2025, aimed at strengthening and future-proofing our earning capacity.
“Through targeted measures regarding product offering, channel strategy, cost control, and innovation, we are working to structurally improve our financial position and sustainably secure our societal contribution.
“As a result, we were already able to absorb part of the negative impact of (among other things) the increase in gambling tax in 2025. We are certainly not there yet, but the plans are in place, are being implemented, and the first positive contributions to our results are already visible.”
https://lotterydaily.com/2026/05/21/retail/nederlandse-loterij-loss-tax/