Rotterdam Court Rejects Extended Hours for Slot Machine Arcades
In mid-May, the Rotterdam District Court rejected a preliminary injunction to extend the opening hours of four slot machine arcades. The judge saw no urgent interest, as the financial need was insufficiently substantiated.
In June 2022, the operators of four slot machine arcades in Rotterdam submitted a request to the mayor for a permanent extension of opening hours. The operator of Corso Casino wanted to be open 24 hours a day, while Queens Casino, Diamond Palace, and Queens Palace wanted to open their doors from 7:00 AM to 4:00 AM.
Pending a possible amendment to the General Local Ordinance (APV), a temporary extension was permitted until 3:00 AM on Friday and Saturday nights, one hour longer than initially allowed.
On July 1, 2023, the temporary extension ended because no amendment was made to the APV. The operators decided to object, but the mayor of Rotterdam rejected the objection. They then went to court, which ruled that the mayor had to better justify the decision.
Mayor Carola Schouten decided not to remedy the lack of motivation, after which the court declared the operators’ appeal well-founded. The mayor then had to make a new decision.
Opening Hours Policy Rule
At the end of March, Schouten published the Opening Hours Policy Rule for slot machine arcades. This sets the opening hours for all slot machine arcades in Rotterdam. From Sunday to Thursday, the slot machine arcades may be open from 7:00 AM to 1:00 AM, while on Friday and Saturday they may be open an hour longer until 2:00 AM.
This decision had previously drawn criticism from the Jongere Ouderen Unie (JOU), a political party from the Rotterdam region. According to JOU, limiting opening hours is counterproductive in practice, because players resort to illegal gambling locations after closing time.
The day after the publication, the mayor made a new decision and rejected the objection again. This time, she used the new policy rule and the General Local Ordinance as justification. The operators also objected to this decision.
Preliminary Injunction Rejected
The operators of four slot machine arcades in Rotterdam decided to apply for a preliminary injunction regarding their objection to the rejection. According to the operators, there would be a financial emergency. They pointed, among other things, to the increase in gambling tax and the rise of online gambling. The location of Corso Casino in an entertainment area also calls for an extension of opening hours, according to the operators.
In mid-May, the judge ruled and rejected the preliminary injunction. The operators had not sufficiently demonstrated that there was an urgent interest. According to the judge, there was no direct financial emergency due to the current opening hours.
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