Taxation: 29% GGR

💡 Important remark. The "29% GGR" formula is the past. According to the decisions of the 2025 budget, the gambling tax rate in the Netherlands has been increased to 34.2% of gross gaming income (GGR) from January 1, 2025, and from January 1, 2026, an increase to 37.8% is planned. These parameters are confirmed by the Ministry of Finance and the Fiscal Service (Belastingdienst).

1) What is the gambling tax and what is the base

Base: GGR (Gross Gaming Revenue) = bet amounts minus winning payments (excluding operating expenses). The tax is levied on the operator of licensed games (casino, bookmaker, online operator), and not directly on the player in the legal segment.

Channels: the same logic for online (KoA-2021) and offline (Wok-1964) - under a valid license and under the supervision of KSA.

Rate: 34.2% from 01. 01. 2025, 37.8% from 01. 01. 2026 (two-stage increase according to the government's plan).

2) Why did you raise the rate (and what happened in practice)

Fiscal goal: to increase budget revenues; increase announced by the government for Prinsjesdag-2024.

Actual effect 2025: industry reports indicate that the rate increase to 34.2% was accompanied by a subsidence of the GGR and a shortfall in receipts relative to expectations; at the same time, the increase to 37.8% for 2026 was preserved.

3) Who pays and how it is considered - briefly and with examples

Payer: The licensed operator (not the player) charges and pays tax on the GGR. Operations fall into the control database (CDB) and under KSA checks.

Example (online casino): €10 million of bets were accepted per month, €9.1 million of winnings were paid → GGR = €0.9 million. Tax in 2025: €0.9 million × 34.2% = €307.8 thousand In 2026 at 37.8%: €340.2 thousand.

Example (bookmaker): accepted bets for €12 million, paid €11.2 million → GGR = €0.8 million; tax-2025: €273.6 thousand; tax-2026: €302.4 thousand

4) Online vs offline: Are there differences

The regulator is the same at the rate, but online operators have additional IT obligations: integration with CRUKS (self-exclusion) and CDB (event mirroring), which increases the transparency of the tax base.

5) Frequent questions

And 29% are still used somewhere? As a general bet - no: they are historical. The current rate is 34.2% (from 2025), then 37.8% (from 2026), according to decisions of the government and fiscal authorities.

Do players pay tax on winnings? In the legal segment, the tax is paid by the operator with GGR; the individual responsibilities of the player depend on the type of game and the status of the operator (for official explanations, see the Belastingdienst website).

Can the rate change? Budget-2026 already contains a plan of up to 37.8%; revisions depend on the macroeconomics and reporting of the KSA/Ministry of Finance. Follow updates from the government and Belastingdienst.

6) What it means for operators and the market

Unit economy: margin after tax is shrinking - cost control, honest delays in live and fraud reduction are more important.

Bonus pricing: getting "more expensive"; extreme transparency and target control are needed to avoid KSA sanctions.

Compliance focus: GGR accuracy, CDB data integrity, perfect KYC/AML and Responsible Gaming processes.

Inference.

The "29% GGR tax" formula no longer reflects reality. From January 1, 2025, the Netherlands has a rate of 34.2%, and from January 1, 2026, an increase to 37.8% is planned. For operators, this means rebuilding the unit economy and an even stricter emphasis on transparent GGR accounting and compliance - under the control of KSA and fiscal authorities.