KSA to Open Applications for Netherlands Exclusive Horse Racing Totalisator Licence on January 4 2027
KSA opens applications January 4-31 2027 for the exclusive five-year totalisator licence covering land-based horse and trotting race pool betting. The winner pays a €40,900 fee and must direct 10% of Dutch horse race GGR to the equestrian sector while maintaining integrity and safer gambling standards. Incumbent ZEbetting & Gaming Nederland's term ends June 30 2027.
SCCG Take — The raised fee and expanded compliance hurdles raise the bar for new bidders in this narrow monopoly. Regulators continue to tie licensing directly to measurable financial support for the sport itself.
The Dutch Gaming Authority (KSA) will begin accepting applications for the Netherlands' exclusive land-based horse racing totalisator licence on January 4, 2027. The permit confers sole rights to pool betting on horse and trotting races at racetracks and physical outlets from July 1 2027 until June 30 2032. As reported by Focus Gaming News, the process will test whether new operators can displace the incumbent holder whose authorisation ends on June 30 2027.
The current licence sits with ZEbetting & Gaming Nederland, a unit of the Zebet/Zeturf group that also holds operations in France, Belgium and Malta. Online horse race betting falls outside this monopoly under the remote gambling regime introduced in 2021 and is licensed separately.
Selection Process and Mandatory Obligations
Prospective bidders must first pay a non-refundable processing fee of €40,900, an increase of almost 28 per cent from the €32,000 charged in the prior round. Application documents will appear on the KSA website in December, with the window closing on January 31 2027.
The KSA will apply a two-stage assessment. Stage one reviews corporate structure, governance, operational continuity, integrity controls, outsourcing safeguards, incident management and experience in offline sports betting. Applicants must also submit detailed policies on preventing excessive gambling, addiction, underage betting and match-fixing. Those who clear this threshold proceed to a notary-supervised lottery draw if more than one qualifies.
The chosen operator is required to remit 10 per cent of monthly gross gaming revenue derived from wagers on Dutch horse and trotting races to fund the equestrian sector and its infrastructure.
What This Means for Potential Market Entrants
The transparent competitive tender maintains the statutory single-operator model for land-based totalisator betting while embedding stricter compliance and sector-support obligations than before. New entrants face material upfront costs and must satisfy exacting public-interest criteria before any lottery can occur. The outcome will determine whether the Dutch horse betting monopoly sees fresh competition or remains with the existing French-backed licensee through 2032.
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