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The three sometimes fractious Dutch gambling trade groups have put aside their differences to express dismay at government plans to hike taxes to almost 38 percent in the Netherlands.
On Tuesday (September 17), the Dutch government officially announced its planned budget for 2025, including a long-feared tax increase that would place the nation among those with the highest rates in Europe.
Fees will rise in two stages from the current 30.5 percent of gross gambling revenue (GGR); first to 34.2 percent in 2025 and then to 37.8 percent in 2026.
The uplift amounts to an almost 10 percent increase since the market opened at a rate of 29 percent of GGR in 2021.
The Netherlands’ three gambling trade groups — NOGA, VAN Kansspelen and VNLOK — issued a joint statement condemning the planned increase.
“All facts and figures indicate that the tax increase will lead to a further erosion of the regulated supply. Tax revenues will therefore decrease,” the groups said.
“At the same time, an increase in illegal and therefore riskier gambling can be expected.
“This is at the expense of the general policy objectives of the Dutch gambling policy, which are precisely aimed at consumer protection and the prevention of fraud, crime and gambling addiction. If this is abandoned, social costs will increase and therefore mean additional financial setbacks.”
The trade bodies called for further analysis from the Dutch government on the impact of the tax hikes, which were first flagged in a coalition agreement in May.
The Netherlands formed its four-party coalition government after months of negotiations, following massive gains for the far right in the 2023 general election.
Despite years of tightening rules in the Netherlands, including a de facto ban on TV advertising and new affordability rules, the incoming regime is expected to be more hostile to gambling than the last.
New gambling minister Teun Struycken comes from a party that has in the past publicly called for the licensing system that began in 2021 to be abandoned.
At least one operator has already decided to exit the Dutch market, ahead of the new tax rates taking effect.
Flutter-owned online bingo operator Tombola announced this week it was quitting the Netherlands, citing “stricter regulations and gambling tax increases” as among the reasons for its departure.
