Dutch Gambling Fee Raises to Fund Rising Regulatory Costs

The Dutch government has increased the gambling tax for online operators due to rising regulatory costs, and the market should go live on October 1, 2021.

The gambling fee will be increased for all promising gambling companies due to the increase in costs associated with market regulation.

These regulatory responsibilities include postponing supervisory costs, adjusted indexation, and accelerating implementation of the country's Remote Gaming Act (KOA).

For online gambling operators, the percentage of GGR paid as part of the fee will increase from 1,75% to 1,95%, with 0.25% of the fee going to the gambling harm prevention fund.

Slots, lotteries and land-based casinos will also see a gradual increase in contributions.

“This is an unfortunate message at a time when many companies are already struggling due to Covid-19 prevention measures,” the KSA said.

Despite this, license fees have also been changed, with many of them being reduced. Lottery and casino operators will see the processing fee reduced from €48,000 to €28,000.

However, license fees for online gambling operators will remain unchanged at €48,000.

The KOA finally went into effect on April 1st and the market launch is scheduled for October 1st after several months of delays due to the pandemic and technical issues.