VAT receipts become a lottery
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19 Sep 2026 •
Reading time: 3 minutes
Belgium is preparing a new scheme combining taxation and games of chance. The National Lottery’s next project could allow customers at restaurants and other hospitality venues to take part in a prize draw using their VAT receipt.
A restaurant receipt that could win you money
Asking for your VAT receipt after a meal could soon serve a purpose other than simply keeping proof of payment. The new management contract between the Belgian government and the National Lottery provides for the creation of a lottery directly linked to VAT receipts.
The details have not yet been finalised. However, the proposed scheme involves using the receipt issued after a visit to a hospitality establishment as a means of entering a prize draw. The receipt would feature a QR code enabling the consumer to enter a prize draw organised by the National Lottery.
A lottery designed to combat tax fraud
Behind the prospect of winnings lies a tax-related objective. The authorities wish to encourage more consumers to ask for their receipts in order to help combat fraud.
This idea is, in fact, not new in Belgium. It features in the Arizona government’s agreement, but had already been mooted long before that. In December 2000, Didier Reynders, then Minister for Finance, had spoken about it in Parliament.
Nor would Belgium be the first to use this type of mechanism. Italy and Portugal have already put in place comparable schemes.
What prizes might be on offer?
The rewards envisaged are likely to take the form mainly of cash prizes rather than gifts.
The chosen model may also differ from lotteries based on a single huge prize. Among the options being considered is a system comprising numerous prizes of a relatively modest value.
The scheme will not be launched immediately
Consumers will therefore not be able to turn their next restaurant receipt into a lottery ticket just yet.
Implementation is expected to take several more months. The launch of the scheme depends, in particular, on the roll-out of new cash registers in the hospitality sector.
The project forms part of the new management contract between the Belgian State and the National Lottery, recently published in the Belgian Official Gazette. This contract sets out the public company’s remit for the next five years.
The contract is not limited to the VAT lottery scheme. It also reaffirms the National Lottery’s commitment to steering players towards a regulated offering that is considered less risky than other forms of gambling available on the market.
“The aim is therefore not to encourage people to gamble more, but to steer existing demand towards low-risk lottery games, in particular traditional draw games,” explains the National Lottery in its press release.
Each game must therefore undergo a risk assessment. A Responsible Gaming Council, comprising mainly independent external experts, is tasked with reviewing new games as well as changes made to existing products before they are launched.