Legislation

Belgium – Kindred succeeds in overthrowing Belgium’s 21 per cent VAT

Belgian gambling operators will no longer have to pay a 21 per cent value-added tax following a decision from the Constitutional Court of Belgium which overturned a 2016 constitutional amendment.

Kindred Group, previously Unibet Group, had challenged the imposed VAT on online gambling for being unfair, undermining policy objectives and lowering channelisation with lower consumer protection as a result.

A spokesperson from Kindered said: “The ruling in the Belgian Constitutional Court cancelling the VAT on online gambling is therefore welcomed by Kindred. The ruling also points out the inherent incompatibility between consumer protection and tax revenue objectives, especially when products (lotteries vs other products) and channels (retail vs online) are treated differently.

“For any gambling policy to succeed and with the “better offer one click away”, locally regulated online operators must be able to provide services of equivalent value to end consumers as services provided by competitors in the global digital world,” it added. “Kindred remains a strong advocate of sustainable regulation based upon a borderless digital market and channelling consumer demand to licensed offerings. We look forward to working with national and international policy makers and regulators to ensure gaming policy is sustainable and fact based.”