Betsson has rebranded its Dutch-facing online gambling brands as the local market readies itself for much-anticipated reorganization
Betsson is looking to distance itself from its “cowboy” past in the Netherlands with a surprising rebrand of its Dutch online casinos Kroon Casino and Oranje Casino.
The move comes shortly after the Dutch Senate passed the Remote Gambling Bill to pave the way for the reorganization of the nation’s online gambling market. The legislation allows interested international operators to apply for a license from the local regulator Kansspelautoriteit.
However, companies that have previously been penalized by the regulatory body will have to serve a two-year blackout period before being allowed to apply for a license.
Betsson, a major Swedish online gambling company, has been one of the “cowboys” (as labeled by Dutch Minister for Justice Sander Dekker) in the unregulated remote gambling space of the Netherlands. The gambling powerhouse has served Dutch customers namely through its Kroon and Oranje online casinos.
Betsson purchased Corona Ltd., the company that runs Oranje Casino and Kroon Casino, in 2014. Last August, Kansspelautoriteit slapped a €300,000 fine on Betsson’s subsidiary for targeting Dutch customers with offering in their native language through the two casino brands.
The Rebrand
Betsson and Dutch regulators have a history of bickering over the country’s regulatory regime. In 2017, Betsson sought court support in its claim that the Netherlands’ gambling rules violated EU regulations for the free movement of services. However, a Hague court ruled in favor of Kansspelautoriteit and its efforts to purge the local space from foreign companies that were targeting Dutch customers without the necessary licenses.
Betsson’s Kroon Casino has become Casino Winner. Visitors of the casino’s krooncasino.com domain are now being redirected automatically to casinowinner.com. It is yet to be seen when the rebrand of Oranje Casino will be completed.
It has become known that Oranje Casino will be renamed as Loyal Casino. And if reports are to be believed, the rebrand is likely to take place early next month.
As mentioned earlier, the move may be deemed part of Betsson’s effort to apply for a license in the Netherlands without having to serve a cooling off period.
The nation’s new gambling law was passed in the Senate this past February, more than two and a half years after its passage in the lower chamber of the Dutch Parliament. However, Kansspelautoriteit is not expected to begin accepting license applications from interested foreign operators before mid-2020.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on the day’s top casino news stories.
