Kindred wins VAT case in Belgium

The Belgian Constitutional Court has overruled a bill imposing heavy VAT on online gambling operators in the country, Kindred Group has announced.

Kindred was one of a number of operators fighting in the courts to stop Belgian Parliament from scrapping a VAT exemption for the online betting industry.

The Stockholm-listed operator, which operates in Belgium under its Unibet brand, argued the imposed VAT was “unfair and undermined policy objectives by lowering channelisation, with lower consumer protection as a result”.

The Constitutional Court agreed with the operator last week, in a ruling that absolves all licensed online gambling operators in the country from paying the tax.

The ruling overrides a law in July 2016 that forced online and betting casino sites to pay a 21% VAT which online gambling trade groups have objected to.

“The [Constitutional Court ] ruling 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,” said Kindred.

“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.

“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.”