Dutch proposals to tax online games of chance pass the Senate

The legislation also reportedly contains provisions targeting individuals that win on non-Dutch online gaming sites, players that authorities have up till now prosecuted in defense of the State monopoly.

Table casino games are legal in Holland and are taxed under a separate provision of current law. The proposal, which is being supported by a cross-section of political factions, calls for the laws on Internet gambling to be changed in order that “illegal online gaming is not given advantage over gaming in the real world”.

Dutch politicians appear to widely favor the bill, mainly because it helps to ensure that: “illegal online gaming is not given advantage over gaming in the real world”, a reference to the Holland Casino in which the state is principal shareholder.

Earlier this year, the Senate rejected an amendment to the Dutch Betting and Gaming Act that would have granted Holland Casino an exclusive license to provide online gambling on a trial basis in The Netherlands.

The State is the main shareholder in Holland Casino and experts at the time stated that Dutch politicians were nervous that the European Commission could intervene over the European Union principles of free movement of trade and services.