BELGIUM Law and Practice Contributed by: Pieter Paepe and Christoph de Preter, EDSON
Gaming Machines Gaming machines are subject to a gambling tax in the form of a fixed amount per machine per year. This also varies depending on region, type of gaming machine, and whether class A, B, C, D or E. Online Games of Chance and Betting The three Belgian federated regions (the Walloon Region, the Flemish Region and the Brussels-Capital Region) have the ability to determine the tax rates applicable to online games of chance and betting. Although these regions could have set different tax rates, in practice they have set the same tax rate (11% of the actual gross margin realised with the game of wager – that is, the gross amount of the sums staked minus the profits that have actually been distributed).
Lotteries Winnings from lotteries are exempt from taxes. The National Lottery pays gambling taxes on its sports betting activities. VAT Under Article 44, Section 3, paragraph 13 of the Bel- gian VAT Code, offline and online games of chance, betting and lotteries are VAT-exempt. This is subject to the conditions and limitations specified in a Royal Decree.
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