Since the devastating fire in August 2017, Groningen has done a lot to keep Holland Casino in the city. In turn, the casino screens, not for the first time, with a departure to Drenthe.
Immediately after the casino on the Gedempte Kattendiep in Groningen burned down, the search for both a temporary and permanent location for Holland Casino started. Several spots came into view, but just as quickly fell off again. Eventually an agreement was reached on the construction of a kind of tennis hall along the Europaweg as a temporary solution.
Casino with hotel on the corner of Sontplein
A definitive location in Groningen was also found not much later. Holland Casino was able to build a gambling palace with a hotel on the corner of Sontweg and Europaweg (formerly the Van der Molen garage, now Daka Sport). Both the municipality and the casino liked it.
Groningen wanted to keep the casino in – or close to – the center. Holland Casino wanted space and accessibility and therefore looked outside the center, as it did in Amsterdam, Utrecht and Venlo.
The corner of Sontplein was an ideal compromise. Close to the center, as Groningen wanted. The distance to the city center will also become even smaller if the municipal plans for a footbridge over the water go ahead. Holland Casino, in turn, was given space and accessibility.
Which visitors does a casino in a meadow attract?
The municipality argues that the casino in the city, in addition to being an attraction, is part of the nightlife: restaurant, gambling, pub. That would also help prevent excesses. ‘What kind of visitors will a casino in the middle of a meadow attract’, former alderman Joost van Keulen once said.
The casino itself does not want gambling problems either. In its annual report for 2022, the company says it does not want to make money from people with gambling problems. The company also conducted many thousands of so-called prevention interviews last year.
Groningen annoyance about plans in Drenthe
Nevertheless, the deal fell through on Sontplein. No agreement was reached with the owner of the land.
In the talks about a new location, Holland Casino has previously screened ‘Drenthe’, a source at the municipality confirms. Apart from the question of whether a casino is allowed in Tynaarlo (along the A7, near Van der Valk and McDonald’s) according to the rules, it is not surprising that annoyance has arisen in the Groningen city council.
The municipality would like to use the land of the old casino on the Gedempte Kattendiep for housing. That costs money. If the casino stays in City, it will also yield something. Move the casino to Drenthe, then Groningen will be empty-handed anyway.
Little fancy gambling box along royal supply route
It should be clear that the blow that Holland Casino dealt to the city with its ‘Drents’ threat is a serious one. Groningen has stuck its neck out for the gambling palace and has already been thanked profusely by former casino boss Erwin van Lambaart.
Moreover, the site of the old casino on the Kattendiep is still undeveloped, while much-needed homes could have been there already. And Groningen has been stuck with an unattractive gambling box on Europaweg for years (longer than intended). A road that is sometimes described as the royal supply route to the city center.
Before the summer decision
Holland Casino wants to make a decision soon, spokesman Norbert Capetti confirmed once again on Saturday. The casino wants to be out before the summer.
There is no room for emotion in business. But the construction of a new casino should not be the stake of a game of poker. Because those who gamble always lose in the end.