Gambling winnings in the Netherlands are not taxed through income tax. Instead, the Netherlands has a separate gambling tax, the kansspelbelasting, which is 37.8 % in 2026. Who pays it depends on where you play. At a casino or betting site licensed by the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the operator pays the tax and you owe nothing on your winnings. At an online site without a Dutch licence, you must file a return and pay 37.8 % yourself on every calendar month in which your winnings exceed your stakes.
This explainer sets out the rules as they apply in October 2026, checked against the Belastingdienst (Dutch Tax Administration) and the KSA: the rate and its recent history, who pays in each situation, how the monthly net result is calculated, lottery prizes and the EUR 449 exemption, grossing-up, foreign casinos inside and outside the EU, and worked examples. Earlier versions of this page used American wording about “federal income tax” and an outdated EUR 454 threshold; both are corrected here. Gambling is for people aged 18 and over (24 and over for bonuses at Dutch-licensed sites). Free help with gambling problems is available from the AGOG helpline on 0900-2177721.
Kansspelbelasting at a glance (2026)
| Situation | Who files and pays | Tax base | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online casino or betting site with a KSA licence | The operator | Its gross gaming result (stakes minus prizes paid out) | 37.8 % |
| Holland Casino and other Dutch land-based casinos and arcades | The operator | Gross gaming result | 37.8 % |
| Dutch lottery or prize draw | The organiser withholds it | Each prize above EUR 449 | 37.8 % |
| Online site without a Dutch licence (anywhere, including the EU) | You, the player | Winnings minus stakes per calendar month, if positive | 37.8 % |
| Offline casino, gaming machine, sports bet or horse-race bet organised in the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein | Nobody in the Netherlands | Exempt | 0 % |
| Offline game abroad, organiser outside the EU/EEA | You, the player | The whole prize | 37.8 % |
What the kansspelbelasting is
The kansspelbelasting is a tax on prizes from games of chance, set by the Wet op de kansspelbelasting and collected by the Belastingdienst. It is not part of the income tax return: winnings are not added to your box 1 income, and there is no separate income tax on top. That is the main difference with countries such as the United States, where gambling winnings count as taxable income for the player.
The Dutch model works the other way round. Most of the tax is collected at the source, from the organiser, before you ever see the money. Only when a game falls outside the Dutch system, because the operator has no Dutch licence or the game was played abroad outside the EU, does the obligation move to the player.
The rate in recent years
| Year | Rate |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 30.5 % |
| 2025 | 34.2 % |
| 2026 | 37.8 % |
The two most recent increases were adopted to raise revenue from the gambling sector. The government’s fiscal key table for 2027, published on 15 September 2026, lists the rate at 37.8 % and estimates that each additional percentage point would raise about EUR 25 million a year. Check the Belastingdienst page for the rate that applies in the month you won.
Playing at a KSA-licensed casino: the invisible tax
If you win at a Dutch-licensed online casino, the Belastingdienst is clear: you do not file a return and you do not pay kansspelbelasting. The operator files its own returns and pays 37.8 % of its gross gaming result, the difference between what players stake and what they win back. A EUR 2,000 win at a licensed casino is therefore EUR 2,000 in your account, with nothing to declare.
You still pay the tax indirectly. The operator builds it into its costs. For the player, though, licensed play means no paperwork and no risk of a late assessment.
How to tell whether a site is licensed
The only reliable check is the KSA’s own register of licence holders (the Kansspelwijzer on kansspelautoriteit.nl). Search by the exact web address, not the brand name: only the domains in the register are covered. Our page on iDEAL casinos in the Netherlands lists the KSA online casino licence holders with their licence dates, and our guide to legal online casinos explains how licensing works in other markets.
Playing at a site without a Dutch licence
Here the tax becomes your responsibility. The Belastingdienst’s rule for online games whose provider has no KSA licence: file a return if you won more than you staked in a calendar month. The KSA confirms the principle in its research on legal and illegal gambling: with illegal supply, the player is in principle responsible for paying the tax, while with legal supply the operator pays.
How the monthly net result works
- Per calendar month. Add up everything you won in the month and everything you staked in the same month. If winnings exceed stakes, the difference is taxable.
- No carry-over. A losing month does not reduce the tax on a winning month.
- Rate. 37.8 % of the positive monthly result in 2026.
- Deadline. The return and the payment must reach the Belastingdienst by the end of the following month. Winnings from October 2026 are due by 30 November 2026.
- Form. The Belastingdienst has a specific return for prizes from online games without a Dutch licence and from foreign games.
- Penalties. A late or missing return can lead to an additional assessment (naheffingsaanslag) and a fine.
The EU exemption does not cover online play
A widespread misunderstanding is that a Malta or other EU licence makes online winnings tax-free for Dutch players. It does not. The Belastingdienst exemption covers prizes from an offline casino game, gaming machine, sports bet or horse-race bet whose organiser is established in the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. An online casino without a KSA licence is taxed on the player’s monthly net result wherever it is based. An EU licence also gives no right to offer games to people in the Netherlands: only KSA licence holders may do that.
Worked examples
Example 1: one good month at an unlicensed online casino
In October 2026 you stake EUR 1,000 in total at an online casino without a Dutch licence and win EUR 1,500. Your taxable result is EUR 500. At 37.8 % you owe EUR 189.00, payable by 30 November 2026. The same play at a KSA-licensed casino would leave you owing nothing.
Example 2: a loss followed by a win
| Month (2026) | Stakes | Winnings | Monthly result | Tax at 37.8 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | EUR 800 | EUR 300 | -EUR 500 | EUR 0 |
| September | EUR 600 | EUR 1,400 | +EUR 800 | EUR 302.40 |
| Total | EUR 1,400 | EUR 1,700 | +EUR 300 | EUR 302.40 |
Over the two months you are only EUR 300 ahead, but the tax is EUR 302.40, because August’s loss cannot be set against September’s gain. That asymmetry is the real cost of playing at unlicensed sites, on top of the lost protections.
Example 3: a holiday casino
You win EUR 3,000 at a land-based casino in Spain. The organiser is established in the EU and the game is an offline casino game, so the prize is exempt: no return, no tax. Win the same amount at a land-based casino in Las Vegas and you must file a return yourself and pay 37.8 % on the whole prize, EUR 1,134, because the organiser is outside the EU. Local tax rules in the other country can apply as well.
Example 4: a Dutch lottery prize
You win EUR 10,000 in a Dutch lottery. Prizes of EUR 449 or less are exempt, but this one is not, so the organiser withholds 37.8 % (EUR 3,780) and pays you EUR 6,220, unless it advertises the prize as net, in which case it pays the tax on top (see grossing-up below). You do not file anything yourself.
Net vs gross prizes: grossing-up
Some organisers advertise a prize “free of gambling tax” and pay the tax themselves. When the organiser bears the tax, it is calculated on a grossed-up amount, so that the winner receives the advertised prize in full. The formula is the net prize divided by (1 minus the rate):
| Advertised net prize | Grossed-up prize at 37.8 % | Tax paid by the organiser |
|---|---|---|
| EUR 1,000 | EUR 1,607.72 | EUR 607.72 |
| EUR 10,000 | EUR 16,077.17 | EUR 6,077.17 |
| EUR 100,000 | EUR 160,771.70 | EUR 60,771.70 |
For players this is good news: the tax money is part of the prize budget, not deducted from your winnings. It does mean that a lottery with a “net” jackpot is spending considerably more on that prize than the headline suggests.
After you win: box 3
Once the kansspelbelasting is settled, the prize is yours. There is no income tax on the win itself. Money you still hold on 1 January counts towards your box 3 savings and investments, like any other savings, and is taxed under the normal box 3 rules if your assets exceed the tax-free allowance. If you won crypto, or staked crypto, our crypto gambling guide explains the separate rules on crypto assets.
Taxes for gambling operators
Licence holders carry most of the tax burden in the Dutch system. A KSA-licensed online operator:
- files kansspelbelasting returns and pays 37.8 % of its gross gaming result;
- pays the KSA’s levy (kansspelheffing), which funds supervision and addiction prevention;
- pays ordinary corporate tax on its profits.
Unlicensed operators pay none of this in the Netherlands, which is one reason the KSA pursues them with fines. It is also why the burden shifts to the player: the state still expects its share of the prize, and with no licensed operator in the chain, the winner has to pay it.
How the Netherlands compares
| Country | Tax on players at licensed sites | Tax on players at unlicensed or foreign sites |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | None; operator pays 37.8 % of gross gaming result | 37.8 % of the positive monthly result (online, no KSA licence) |
| Sweden | None; operator pays 22 % gaming tax | 30 % of net winnings per operator and year outside the EEA, or where the game requires a Swedish licence |
| Denmark | None; operator pays gambling duty | Net winnings taxable as personal income when the provider is outside the EU/EEA or fails Skattestyrelsen’s conditions |
| United Kingdom | None on winnings; operators pay gambling duties | Not taxed as income for recreational players |
| United States | Winnings are taxable income for the player | Same |
Our guides to casinos without a Swedish licence and casinos without a Danish licence explain the Scandinavian rules in detail.
Is it worth playing abroad for a better return?
The old version of this page argued that playing at sites outside the Dutch system could give a better return. Under 2026 rules the numbers point the other way for most players. At a licensed site the tax is already inside the game’s economics, and your winnings are yours. At an unlicensed site you pay 37.8 % on every winning month with no relief for losing months, you lose Cruks self-exclusion, the KSA’s limits and the Dutch complaints route, and you take the risk that the site refuses to pay or disappears. Any bigger bonus has to beat all of that before it is worth anything.
Staying safe
Dutch-licensed sites must connect to Cruks, the national self-exclusion register: if you register, every licensed operator must block you for at least six months. Unlicensed sites do not check Cruks. Licensed sites also have to set deposit limits and check whether high deposits are affordable. If gambling is costing you money you need or time you would rather spend elsewhere, contact the AGOG helpline on 0900-2177721 or the support services listed on our responsible gambling page.
UK players
This page describes Dutch tax. If you live in Great Britain, only operators licensed by the UK Gambling Commission may offer you gambling (Gambling Act 2005), and GAMSTOP self-exclusion covers only UKGC-licensed sites.
Frequently asked questions
Do you pay tax on gambling winnings in the Netherlands?
Not at KSA-licensed casinos or betting sites: the operator pays the kansspelbelasting. At an online site without a Dutch licence you must file and pay 37.8 % yourself on each month in which your winnings exceed your stakes.
What is the gambling tax rate in the Netherlands in 2026?
The kansspelbelasting rate is 37.8 % from 1 January 2026, up from 34.2 % in 2025 and 30.5 % in 2024.
How much can you win tax-free in the Netherlands?
Lottery and prize-draw prizes of EUR 449 or less are exempt. Winnings at KSA-licensed online casinos are tax-free for the player at any size, because the operator pays the tax.
Are winnings from an EU online casino tax-free in the Netherlands?
No. The EU exemption covers only offline casino games, gaming machines, sports bets and horse-race bets organised in the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. Online winnings from a site without a KSA licence are taxable for the player.
When do I have to file kansspelbelasting myself?
File by the end of the month after the month in which you won more than you staked at an online site without a Dutch licence, or after you won at an offline game whose organiser is outside the EU.
Do I have to declare casino winnings in my income tax return?
No. Gambling prizes are covered by the kansspelbelasting, not income tax. Money you still hold on 1 January counts towards your box 3 savings and investments.
Can losses be deducted from gambling tax?
Only within the same calendar month at unlicensed online sites, where stakes are deducted from winnings. A losing month cannot be set against a winning month.
Sources
- Belastingdienst: Ik heb een prijs gewonnen, moet ik nu kansspelbelasting betalen?
- Belastingdienst: Kansspelbelasting
- Belastingdienst: Wij organiseren een kansspel, hoe zit het met de kansspelbelasting?
- Rijksoverheid: Fiscale sleuteltabel 2027 (15 September 2026)
- Kansspelautoriteit: consumer behaviour in legal and illegal online gambling
- Kansspelautoriteit: Kansspelwijzer (register of licence holders)
- Cruks: national gambling exclusion register