Belgium is considering a significant change to the way online gambling is taxed, as the Flemish government seeks agreement among the country’s three regions on raising the current rate from 11 per cent to 15 per cent.
The proposal highlights a structural challenge in Belgian federalism: gambling regulation is largely handled at federal level, but taxes on games and betting belong to the country’s regions: Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels. Each can set its own rate, taxable base and exemptions.
All three currently charge online operators 11 per cent of gross gaming revenue. Flanders wants that rate raised to 15 per cent from 1 January 2027, matching the general levy already applied to several offline forms of betting in Flanders and Brussels.
A paper submitted by the Flemish government to Belgium’s Consultation Committee asks the three regions to legislate at the same time and to consult one another before making future changes.
“The necessary regulatory initiatives should be taken to bring the rate to 15 per cent with effect from 1 January 2027,” the document says. It also calls on the regions to change the rate, taxable base or exemptions in the future only “after mutual consultation with the other regions”.
Belgium’s licensed operators have previously urged policymakers to consider the combined impact of tax and regulatory changes. The Belgian Association of Gaming Operators (BAGO) told SiGMA News in a previous interview: “The recent market data, showing a fall of nearly 5 per cent in gross gaming revenue in 2024, confirms, in our view, the need for caution in the face of the accumulation of fiscal and regulatory pressures on the legal sector.”
A tax rate set before online gambling became dominant
The present 11 per cent rate dates from decisions made by the regions in 2010 and 2011. Since then, online gambling has moved from a smaller part of the market to its largest segment.
Figures cited by the Flemish government show that online play accounted for 57 per cent of Belgium’s total gross gaming revenue in 2024, against 43 per cent for offline gambling. The proportion of people aged 15 and over who gambled online rose from 7.9 per cent in 2018 to 14.8 per cent in 2023-24.
That change has strengthened the case made by Flemish lawmakers that the tax structure no longer reflects how people gamble. A separate parliamentary paper describes online products as permanently accessible and supported by digital marketing, bonuses and sponsorship.a
“Precisely those forms of gambling are currently treated more favourably for tax purposes than various offline alternatives,” the document says.
The Flemish proposal also places Belgium’s rate below several other European markets that tax gross gaming revenue. Its comparison lists the Netherlands at 37.8 per cent, Denmark at 28 per cent, Italy at 25 per cent, Sweden at 22 per cent and Spain at 20 per cent. Differences in products, deductions and regulatory costs mean headline rates are not directly comparable, but Belgium’s 11 per cent remains at the lower end.
Europe offers a warning on tax increases
The experience of the Netherlands shows that a higher rate may not produce as much additional revenue as forecast. The Dutch gambling tax rose from 30.5 per cent to 34.2 per cent in 2025 and to 37.8 per cent in 2026.
A June 2026 assessment by the Dutch finance ministry and gambling regulator found that the increase generated €2 million in additional revenue in 2025, against an expected €108 million. For 2026, the projected increase was €57 million, compared with an original estimate of €216 million.
The authorities said the lower-than-expected return reflected several developments, including player-protection rules that reduced gross gaming revenue. They said the tax increase itself may also have reduced the taxable base, but cautioned that the effects of the different measures could not be separated conclusively.
As Brussels newspaper BRUZZ reported, one risk raised in the dispute is that operators could simply move the servers through which bets are processed to Brussels or Wallonia and remain subject to a lower regional tax rate.
Belgium’s debate will therefore test two questions at once: whether a tax structure agreed at the beginning of the online era remains defensible, and whether three autonomous governments can maintain a common policy as the market becomes increasingly digital.
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