Online gaming a key driver of $1 billion in Dutch gambling tax revenue in 2022
Since autumn 2021, Dutch people have been allowed to play on licensed casino sites. Since then, the market has continued to boom, giving the government a boost. Last year, the Netherlands made nearly $1 billion from gambling taxes.
Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) reports that around one in 20 Dutch people gambled on a licensed online platform last year. This helped the government collect 900 million euros ($973 million) in gambling taxes in 2022.
This number is expected to increase as the Dutch government approves additional licenses and more consumers turn to online gambling platforms. KSA data shows that 60% of online gamblers had never gambled before the emergence of the iGaming segment.
Gambling continues to increase
Gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the Dutch iGaming industry in 2022 was €1.08 billion ($1.16 billion), according to KSA data from April this year. The deviation was unexpected from forecast annual GGR for the second half of about €1.22 billion ($1.31 billion).
Sales increased significantly in the fourth quarter of last year, partially offsetting the previous decline. GGR for the iGaming segment in the fourth quarter was €327 million ($353.38 million), compared to €271 million ($292.87 million) in the previous quarter.
2022 ended on a good note. The gaming industry as a whole is showing an upward trend, and although the iGaming part has not lived up to initial expectations, its success cannot be ignored.The Netherlands launched iGaming in October 2021, and just about a year after launch, the segment generated over €1 billion in revenue.
In the same KSA report, the upward trend continued into January 2023, with year-over-year growth of 37.7%. iGaming's GGR increased from €90 million ($97.26 million) in January 2022 to €123 million ($132 million) in January 2023. Overall, regulators expect growth to average about 13% to 15% in 2023.
Physical games reopen
In addition to increased legalization of online gambling, the end of the COVID-19 pandemic has also resulted in an increase in gambling taxes. By returning to near-normal operations last year, Holland Casino was able to begin welcoming more players to its venues.
While gambling tax revenue is significant, it still represents only a small portion of total revenue. Figures from Statistics Netherlands show that gambling tax revenue represents only a small portion of total government revenue.
Taxes and social security contributions totaled nearly 370 billion euros ($399.86 billion) last year, according to the agency. Government revenue rose 9% to 415.5 billion euros ($449 billion), mainly due to higher revenue from corporate profits taxes and higher natural gas revenues due to geopolitical developments.
Lower spending also led to an increase in the government surplus. The lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and other spending allowed the Dutch government to reduce the deficit by 0.1% of gross domestic product. The final deficit calculation was 1.4 billion euros ($1.51 billion), well below the 20.4 billion euros ($22 billion) the government reported a year ago.
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Source: www.casino.org
