Since 1 July 2016, Belgium has chosen to no longer exempt online gambling or online money games that are not lotteries from VAT. Other games of chance, on the other hand, remain exempt from VAT. According to providers of online games of chance in Belgium, this selective exemption is contrary to the principle of neutrality. The CJEU has the opportunity to clarify whether and to what extent the principle of neutrality precludes a selective exemption of certain types of games of chance. Chaudfontaine Loisirs offers online games of chance and online money games. Those activities were exempt from VAT in Belgium until 1 July 2016, when the VAT exemption on online games of chance and online money games other than lotteries was abolished. The Belgian tax authorities rejected Chaudfontaine Loisirs’ request for reimbursement of VAT paid for the period from 1 July 2016 to 21 May 2018. According to the CJEU, Article 135(1)(i) of the VAT Directive, read in conjunction with the principle of fiscal neutrality, does not preclude national legislation which treats differently the purchase of certificates of participation in lotteries and participation in other offline games of chance and offline money games.
Source BTW jurisprudentie
See also
- C-73/23 (Chaudfontaine Loisirs) – Differential VAT Treatment for Offline and Online Gambling
- C-741/22 (Casino de Spa and Others) – VAT Directive and Neutrality in Gambling Differentiation
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