A Dutch Court of Appeals has ruled that the Dutch tax office Belastingdienst has no right to tax winnings earned by local gamblers who played on the Malta-licensed dot-eu site of The Stars Group’s PokerStars brand.
The lengthy case started when Belastingdienst claimed that Dutch poker players were required to pay 29 percent tax on their PokerStars winnings.
Under European Union rules, gambling winnings from EU member states are exempt from taxation. The Netherlands, however, argued that PokerStars’ parent company at the time—the Rational Group—was based on the Isle of Man, which lies outside the EU.
However, Dutch players argued that the PokerStars.eu site on which they played was based in Malta and thus qualified for the exemption.
The court in Den Bosch ruled that the Malta-licensed Rational Gaming Europe Limited “should be regarded as the holder of the online game of chance offered via PokerStars.eu” and the players qualified for the exemption.
According to a report at CalvinAyre.com, the Dutch tax office’s attorneys are reportedly studying the ruling, which would require Belastingdienst to issue millions of euros in refunds to players who already paid their tax bills.
