Betting and lottery tax

Published by:
Netherlands Enterprise Agency, RVO
Netherlands Enterprise Agency, RVO

Do you organise games of chance and are you based in the Netherlands? You have to pay betting and lottery tax (in Dutch). Operators of gaming machines must also pay this tax. Prize winners also pay betting and lottery tax (in Dutch) on prizes. The organiser deducts this from the prize money.

When do you pay betting and lottery tax?

You have to pay betting and lottery tax if you:

  • organise casino games
  • operate gaming machines (for example a slot machine)
  • organise other games of chance where luck determines whether someone wins

Filing a betting and lottery tax return

You file monthly returns to the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration (Belastingdienst, in Dutch). You can file quarterly returns only if in the previous 2 calendar years you paid €15,000 per quarter or less, and you have received at most 2 additional betting and lottery tax assessments.

You can use the Betting and lottery tax return form (in Dutch) to pay this tax to the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration. You can find information on, among others, the rates in the Explanation for the Betting and lottery tax return form (pdf, in Dutch).

What do you pay betting and lottery tax on?

You pay this tax on the difference between the bets and the prizes, or on the commission you received.

If you operate gaming machines, you pay betting and lottery tax on the gross proceeds from your machines. For this you can also use the Betting and lottery tax return form (in Dutch).

Gambling duty

Licence holders for games of chance machines have to pay gambling duty to the Netherlands Gaming Authority (Kansspelautoriteit, in Dutch). The duty is based on the number of players that can play at a game of chance machine (gaming places).