The Dutch government has been told by gambling stakeholders in the Netherlands to change its taxation direction, as the current plans are ‘counterproductive’.
Trade associations Vergunde Nederlandse Online Kansspelaanbieders (VNLOK) and VAN Kansspelen, as well as operators Nederlandse Loterij and Holland Casino, have told the House of Representatives that the current taxation rate has resulted in lower revenue, more players going to black market operators and a reduction in funds for social causes.
An action plan has been issued to tackle the tax revenue drop, including timely evaluations, results incorporation and future policy consideration.
Taxation will be discussed by government officials in a committee debate on 11 March. Over the past few years, gambling tax has gradually increased in the Netherlands, going up from 30.5% to 34.2% in 2025 and to 37.8% in 2026. VNLOK noted that the latest increase is still pending.
In addition, the trade body said approximately €40m less in gambling tax is to be collected in 2025 in comparison to the previous year, according to data from the Dutch gambling authority Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), while €43.5m less online gambling tax was paid compared to the previous year.
Björn Fuchs, Chair of VNLOK, commented: “The government is trying to generate additional revenue with this measure, but is achieving the opposite. We are seeing lower tax revenues, more illegal offerings, and less money for sports and charities.
“This is not only financially unwise, it also undermines the policy of protecting players. The player is the victim of this policy.”
The trade body also cited the KSA analysis that showed that illegal gambling outnumbered legal gambling in the first half of 2025.
Dutch Olympic Committee*Dutch Sports Federation (NOC*NSF) projects that are funded through the tax revenue have been impacted, with VNLOK claiming that contributions drop by approximately €2.5m for every gambling tax percentage point increase. NOC*NSF has estimated that the current increase costs the sports sector €12.5m to €15m.
Three requests have been sent to the Government by VNLOK, VAN, the Dutch lottery and Holland Casino:
- Send promised gambling tax evaluation to House of Representatives no later than Q2 2026.
- Incorporate results into decision-making, including a reconsideration of increases.
- Explicitly consider relationship between tax burden, illegal supply, player protection and social contributions in future policy.
Illegal market crackdown was one of the five key themes in the KSA’s supervisory agenda for 2026, in addition to protecting vulnerable groups, supervising the duty of care, supervising advertising and supervising compliance with the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act (Wwft).
The government’s recently published coalition agreement also includes cracking down on illegal gambling sites, as well as an online gambling advertising ban, strengthening online operators’ duty of care and exploring limiting the number of online operator licences.