BRUSSELS: Belgium’s Constitutional Court has annulled legislation which extended value-added tax to the supply of online gaming and gambling services to customers in Belgium.
The landmark decision was issued on March 22 in response to a legal challenge to the legislative change brought by Swedish-listed online gambling group Kindred (formerly Unibet).
Legislation to remove the broad-based VAT exemption on the gambling sector in Belgium entered into force on August 1, 2016. As a result of the change, all gambling and games of chance that take place online are subject to VAT at the standard rate of 21 percent. However, lotteries and land-based gambling remained VAT-exempt.
Kindred put forward arguments that the decision was incompatible with both Belgium’s gaming laws and value-added tax law, as it discriminated against online operators and in favor of lotteries and land-based casinos.
