Dutch lower house approves temporary online gambling tax hike

News on 25 Nov 2017

The seemingly interminable delays in implementing online gambling licensing and regulation in the Netherlands (the legislative wrangling has been going on for years) will hopefully be over by mid-2018 – the latest date for launch – but operators are facing stiff tax rates in the new market.

Our readers will recall that the Dutch government announced earlier this year that it planned a “temporary” 1.1 percent increase in the already steep rate on GGR set for licensees. This increase, which will be in force through to January 2019, will bring the basic tax rate to a pricey 30.1 percent of GGR.

After January 2019 the tax rate will revert to 29 percent of GGR derived from Dutch online punters.

This week lawmakers in the Lower House approved the legislation, rejecting a proposed amendment that the increase be limited to just 12 months. The proposal now moves to the Upper House for ratification.

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