When will the men in suits who run the Holland Casino group – the state-owned monopoly on gambling in the Netherlands – finally admit that their primary aim is to raise money for the government, not control gambling?

The company is currently under investigation by the EU, which says the Dutch insistence on maintaining its state monopoly conflicts with its competition rules.
The EU is extremely suspicious about the company’s argument that its function is to control gambling, combat addiction and keep organised crime out.
After all, Holland Casino advertises itself as ‘a great night out’ all over the place – on the tv, in magazines, on billboards and even on the pedal boats which tourists can hire on the Amsterdam canals.
The advertising is proving successful. Last year the number of casino visitors soared by 7.6%, generating nearly €270m for the treasury.
Holland Casino uses lots of humour, celebrities and glamorous women to get its message across. Nothing about the prize money that can be won of course. And nothing that would tempt children to take up the game. That would be breaking the law.
So next week the Amsterdam casino hosts the 17th Master Classics of Poker, a tournament with total prize money of €5m. The winner goes home with €700,000 – the biggest Dutch poker prize ever. The whole event will be shown live on the internet. Treasury officials must be delighted.