The legal battle between online casino Circus.nl and the Belastingdienst, the Dutch tax authority, has ended in a ruling against the casino. At the heart of the dispute is the issue of VAT on gaming platform services.
A legal battle over VAT
On 27 May 2025, the Zeeland-West Brabant court examined the case between Circus.nl and the Belastingdienst. The casino, operated by Betca B.V., had paid more than €1 million in VAT on several invoices issued by a supplier of its own parent company, the Gaming1 group.
The company contested these invoices, arguing that they should have been exempt from VAT. However, the court rejected this claim, ruling that VAT was due and that the invoices were not covered by the exemption for games of chance.
A strict interpretation of VAT law
Circus.nl relied on Article 11 of the Dutch VAT Act, which provides for the exemption of games of chance as defined by the Gaming Tax Act. According to the casino, the services of Gaming1’s subsidiary, which provides the gaming platform, should also be exempt.
However, the court clarified that Gaming1‘s subsidiary is not considered a gambling operator under the law. As a result, the invoices it issued to Betca B.V. are subject to VAT and cannot be deducted.
This distinction is essential: Betca B.V. does benefit from an exemption on its own gaming activity, but this does not extend to the services provided by its parent company.
Niels Meloen, tax adviser at Borgen Tax:
“The court’s decision once again highlights the importance of contractual agreements in relation to turnover tax. According to the judge, the actual implementation does not deviate from the contractual agreements to such an extent as to justify a different decision. This decision therefore once again underlines the importance of well-drafted contracts. This decision also confirms that VAT remains a structural problem for gambling operators. While gambling tax is often the main tax burden, it is precisely VAT that can lead to unexpected costs in international collaborations. The risk of double taxation or missed deductions is particularly present when purchasing software, licences and platform services.”
Between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the third quarter of 2023, Circus.nl paid more than €1 million in VAT on platform services. The company hoped to recover this amount through the courts, but the ruling makes any recovery impossible.
A signal for the online gaming industry
This court ruling could have repercussions for the entire online casino sector in the Netherlands. Operators must now be particularly careful about how they structure their contractual relationships with software and platform providers, or risk having VAT applied to services they thought were exempt.The ruling also illustrates the strictness of the Dutch tax authorities and the need for gambling companies to comply strictly with regulatory frameworks.