Lower Dutch tax rate to trigger sports investment, says Unibet

Unibet says it is ready to sign a multi-million pound, four-year sponsorship deal with the Dutch Royal Cycling Federation (KNWU) on the provision the Netherlands lowers its proposed 29% levy on the soon-to-be-regulated remote gambling market.

The deal, which is reportedly worth ?7m, will see the Unibet logo displayed on the jerseys of the Dutch national cycling teams, but is wholly dependent on the outcome of the on-going regulatory process in the country.

The operator said the sponsorship agreement, which is due to commence on 1 January 2017, would be scaled back to just a one-year deal should the country press ahead with its 29% tax plans, although a lower rate of 20% would see national sporting bodies benefit from increased sponsorship opportunites.

Unibet said the proposed levy, which would tax the online and land-based industries at the same rate, would choke-off investment into sports and that there was evidence that “realistic and sustainable market conditions” in other territories had led to an increase in sports sponsorship investment.

“It is a fact that sports will receive less funds if the gaming tax is too high and incumbents benefit from selective advantages,” Anne-Jaap Snijders, Unibet head of Western Europe, said.

“It can’t be the case that online operators are paying more than the Dutch lotteries who benefit from tax exemptions and are subject to an effective tax rate of 10%. This disables online gambling operators to make a considerable investment in Dutch sports and is not good for Dutch players and Dutch sports in general,” he added.

Snijders’ comments were backed-up by chairman of the KNWU, Marcel Wintels, who said the Dutch parliament should take the interests of Dutch sports into account and focus on creating a sustainable market when it comes to debate the 29% tax rate.

Dutch lottery De Lotto today criticised the Unibet-KNWU agreement and suggested the operator was merely using the cycling federation as a political pawn.

Frank Tolboom, gaming attorney at Dutch law firm Kalff Katz & Franssen, said the tax debate was “far from over” and that channelisation and player protection concerns, not just commercial interests, must also be considered.

“In addition, it’s also going to be a challenge to implement a uniform tax rate as at present the effective tax burden differs for various incumbents,” Tolboom added.

Earlier this month EGR reported that a number of operators had “baulked” at the increased tax rate, with many saying it could severely damage the market.

The rate was initially set at 20%, but the Netherland’s ruling coalition later submitted proposals to tax online gaming at 29% instead.