Taxes drop for Dutch pokies after court ruling

A Dutch court ruled PokerStars is located outside the EU so players won’t have to pay the 29% tax on winnings.

Netherlands.- A Den Bosch court in the Netherlands has ruled in favour of Dutch online poker players and freed them from paying a European tax. According to the ruling, PokerStars is located in Malta, which means the tax, applied to EU members, can’t be set on its player base.

The Dutch tax authority argued that the poker giant is based in the Isle of Man and, therefore, should be subject to European laws and taxes. However, the court agreed with poker players, which assured the company is based in Malta, meaning they aren’t liable for income tax on winnings earned within the European block.

The ruling has cleared some players of paying tax demands as high as €500k, lawyer Pepijn le Heux, who represents between 75 and 100 poker players told Dutch media outlet AD. Therefore, clients have been favoured by the Den Bosch court and will be allowed to claim back the cash, unless the tax office decides to appeal to the Supreme Court before the case hits its deadline six weeks from now.