Casino operator LeoVegas had successfully secured a gaming license to operate in the Netherlands for the next five years. The hugely successful company, founded in Sweden, will look to go live in the region in the second half of 2023. 

Regulatory improvements in the Netherlands have made it more enticing for top operators to gear their focus in Holland, and no doubt LeoVegas will be followed by other big players seeking to make the most of the market.

LeoVegas had made moves into other European territories recently, with a presence established in both Denmark and Germany.

On the granting of the license Gustaf Hagman, CEO of the LeoVegas Group, commented enthusiastically;

“LeoVegas group has been granted a gaming license in the rapidly growing Dutch market! We are thrilled to look to the future and fully focus on resuming our Dutch journey: the Netherlands has great potential and we look forward to it becoming an important market in our global growth journey.”

LeoVegas, one of the top players in the online gaming market, previously operated in the Netherlands before the market there became regulated and had withdrawn from the country in October 2021 with the long-term goal of securing a license to operate there legally. 

Seemingly the process to secure that license is a lengthy one, so much so that one of LeoVegas’s competitors, Betsson, opted to withdraw their application citing the delays as a factor for doing so.

MGM Resorts acquired LeoVegas in May of last year in a deal worth an astonishing $607m, which gives you some idea of the broad success of the Swedish brand. 

That said, revenue for the first quarter of 2023 was down by 3.5% though this is thought to be little more than a blip in the company’s fortunes.