Gambling levy and fees to increase in Netherlands under KOA

The heightened levy and fees were announced through the Rijksoverheid, the Netherlands’ central government. The Ministry of Justice and Security, which is responsible for games of chance, cited costs incurred through the introduction of the KOA as the reason for the increase.

The increased gambling levy, which was previously set at 1.75% of GGR, is set to take effect from the market’s launch on 1 October 2021.

In addition, fees are set to rise as previous fee estimations were incorrect, and must now be adjusted to support costs incurred by the Netherlands Gaming Authority, Kansspelautoriteit.

For example, after 1 October, lotteries that offer prizes of more than €1m but less than €5m must pay a fee of €1,029, an increase from the €1,000 previously designated.

Casinos that offered gaming machines previously had to pay a €219 fee per machine, but will have to pay €232 after the 1 October deadline.

For charity lotteries that offer more than €50,000 but less than €500,000 in prizes, licence fees will increase significantly from €2,000 to €4,100.

The KOA was passed in February 2019, but faced three significant delays before it became law in April this year. It was to be enacted in June 2020 initially, followed by delays that saw the date move to 1 March 2021 and finally 1 April, 2021.

The Ministry of Justice and Security stated that the 1 October date for the market’s launch had been chosen to consider how operators are recovering from the effects of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.