The opening of the online betting market in the Netherlands has presented a new opportunity for multiple international operators, but others will have to wait.

Under the terms of the KOA Act, the piece of legislation regulating the Dutch online sector, a mandatory ‘cooling-off period’ has been enforced – requiring all KOA applicants to cease their market operations from 1 October.

The Kindred Group is now one of the companies to have not been included in the list of initial 10 operators permitted to commence betting and gaming activity in the newly regulated market. 

Speaking on the Nasdaq Stockholm-registered company’s official YouTube channel as part of a series of Q&A videos, group CEO Henrik Tjärnström doubled down on his earlier statement that the company expects to enter the Dutch market around April 2022, in line with the country’s regulatory timeframe.

“We announced on 30 September that we would cease accepting bets, deposits and registrations from Dutch residents in seeking clarification about the process in the Dutch market,” he said.

“We have received that and the Board took the decision yesterday to remain ceased until we get awarded a licence, which we expect should be sometime during the second quarter of next year. 

“In the meantime we will remain ceased and not accept any bets, deposits or registration from Dutch residents.”

The temporary suspension of its Dutch operations will still have a significant impact on Kindred’s finances, in particular its EBITDA of around £12 million per month against its current forecasts.

Similarly, UK FTSE100-listed sports betting and gaming group Entain has also announced an end to its Dutch operations in observance of the KSA’s cooling-off period, detailing that it anticipates to absorb an ‘EBITDA impact of around £5 million per month.

However, although facing regulatory hurdles in the Dutch market, Kindred continues to perform well in other jurisdictions, with Tjärnström detailing earlier this year that the company has experienced growth in the French market, whilst also noting that the UEFA 2020 European Championship had a major cross-continental impact on revenue.