Prizes, stakes and the monthly sum
Dutch gambling tax on crypto casino prizes: taxpayer, monthly base and rate
When a prize comes from an online casino with no Dutch permit, the winner rather than the casino owes the levy. Here is the base it is charged on, the rate, and the figures worth recording each month.
Dutch gambling tax, the kansspelbelasting, reaches players directly when they win at an online casino that holds no permit from the Netherlands: in that situation the winner, not the operator, is the one who owes it. Playing in bitcoin or USDT changes nothing about that. This page walks through the articles, works a simple example and ends with the records worth keeping from the very first deposit.
The article numbers below refer to the Wet op de kansspelbelasting, identifier BWBR0002359 on wetten.overheid.nl. We read it there on 16 September 2026 in the version in force from 1 January 2026.
Who owes Dutch gambling tax on online prizes
Article 1 lists the persons the levy is charged to. Part i names those living or established in the Netherlands who are entitled to prizes from games of chance at a distance, with one exception: the online games covered by part d. Part d concerns the holder of an online permit issued under article 31a of the Dutch gaming statute, and that holder pays the levy on the games it offers.
In practice the line runs like this. A prize from a provider holding that Dutch permit is dealt with by the provider. A prize from a casino whose only licence comes from Curaçao or Anjouan, or which shows no number at all, lands in part i, and the person entitled to the prize is the one who owes the amount. Every one of the twelve casinos in this site's ranking falls into that second group.
Notice the word «living». What counts is where you live, not where the casino is registered or which coin you stake. An account with an operator based abroad does not move the obligation anywhere else.
The base: one balance per calendar month
Article 3(1)(c) sets the base for part i: the positive difference between the prizes you win in a calendar month and the stakes you place in that same month. The sum is made per month, not per spin or per bet, and only a positive result becomes a base.
Article 8a gives the mechanics. Its first paragraph says that in part i cases the amount has to be paid on a return you file yourself, so nothing is withheld by the casino. Under its second paragraph, the closing day of the month the base belongs to is when payment falls due.
An example with invented round figures, only to show the method:
- In March you stake €2,000 in total and win €2,600 in prizes.
- The positive difference is €600, which is the base for March.
- In April you stake €1,500 and win €1,100. The difference is negative, so April produces no base.
The example mainly shows that the monthly balance can only be worked out when stakes and prizes are recorded separately. The closing balance of an account does not tell you either figure.
The 37.8% rate
Article 5(1) is brief: the rate is 37.8 percent. Applied to the €600 base for March in the example, that comes to €226.80. April produces nothing to pay, because its difference is negative.
If you play in coins, prizes and stakes still have to be expressed in euros to work out the difference. The articles above do not say which exchange rate applies, so note the euro value of each deposit and each prize at the moment it happens, together with the source of that rate. How coins travel from a wallet into a cashier is set out in the step-by-step deposit guide.
Dutch gambling tax and the €449 exemption
Anyone who has won a lottery prize may know the figure of €449. Article 4(1) does exempt prizes up to that amount, but only where part g or part h of article 1 applies. Part i, the online case in which you file yourself, is not among them.
For a player at an online casino without a permit from the Netherlands that means even a small positive monthly balance is within scope. The €449 cannot be deducted from your base.
Filing and asking about your own case
Because article 8a(1) puts the payment on a return, the practical contact is the Dutch Belastingdienst. Its site belastingdienst.nl is where forms and explanations for individuals are published; check there which form applies in the year you won and how it is sent in.
Questions that depend on your own circumstances belong with the Belastingdienst or with a tax adviser. Think of a prize you only withdraw weeks later, a bonus balance that turns into cash, or stakes spread across several casinos. This page explains how the articles fit together; it is not advice on a personal situation.
A coin's price change is a separate question
Everything above concerns prizes and stakes. What happens to the value of your coins after you withdraw them is a different matter. If the bitcoin you received as a prize rises or falls, the monthly balance of the month in which you won stays exactly what it was.
How coins you hold yourself are treated falls outside this page. Keep the two apart in your records, so you can later show which amount was a prize and which was a movement in price.
What to record each month
Good records make a return easier and help if questions come up later. Start at the first deposit rather than at the first win:
- For each deposit: date, coin, network, number of coins, euro value at that moment and the transaction ID.
- For each month: total stakes and total prizes, ideally from an export or the casino's transaction history.
- For each withdrawal: date, coin, amount, receiving address and transaction ID.
- The price source you use and the moments at which you noted a rate.
- A screenshot of the account overview at the end of each month, with the date visible.
- A copy of any return you file, with the calculation behind it.
Keep all of this outside the casino account, for example in a folder on your own computer. An account can be closed, and a closed cashier no longer shows its history. What casinos write into their own terms about caps and instalments is collected on the withdrawals guide.
The licensing rules themselves, the public search for Dutch permit holders and the exclusion register are described on the page about the Dutch rules.