Netherlands introduces temporary gambling tax rise

Members of the Parliament announced plans to implement a temporary rise in the current tax rate from July 2018 to January 2019.

Netherlands.- A new plan from the Dutch government would rise gambling taxes from 29 percent to to 30.1 percent from July 2018 to January 2019. The six month period would allow the Kansspelautoriteit (Dutch Gaming Authority) to implement all the changes implemented in the new law.

After the six months, operators in the Netherlands that pay gross gaming revenue from slots, casino and other forms of gambling would go back to the 29 percent rate. This new measure is included in the Dutch government’s budget plan for 2018.

The Dutch Gaming Authority came up with new rules in May that prohibited online gaming operators and affiliates to target local players by using local symbols like tulips and windmills. Those .nl domains are banned from redirecting players to .com gaming websites.

Online gaming operator Betsson has expressed its discontent with the measure and asked the European Commission (EC) to prevent the regulatory body from taking action against some online operators due to a lack of legal justification for such actions. The company considered that the crackdown on online gaming operators was in violation of EU rules. Nevertheless, a court in the Hague ruled last week against the petition as it said that the claims were inadmissible in a court of law.

Analysts estimate that the industry will suffer multiple delays in the implementation of the new bill, mainly because of political uncertainty. However, international operators remain hopeful that this legislation will open the doors for them to offer their services to Dutch players.