The Netherlands slash tax for online poker after court order

A Den Bosch court in the Netherlands has issued an order favouring Dutch online poker players. The court exempted them from paying a European tax. The case was against the players and the top online poker platform, PokerStars. The court ruled that since PokerStars is located in Malta, the tax applied to EU members cannot be set on its player base.

The Dutch tax authority argued that PokerStars is based in the Isle of Man and, therefore, is subject to European laws and taxes. However, the court agreed with poker players, who argued that the company is based in Malta.

The ruling has cleared some players of paying tax demands as high as €500k, lawyer Pepijn le Heux, who represents between 75 and 100 poker players told Dutch media outlet AD. Therefore, clients have been favoured by the Den Bosch court and will be allowed to claim back the cash, unless the tax office decides to appeal to the Supreme Court before the case hits its deadline six weeks from now.