KSA to Issue Partial Tax Refunds to Operators Affected by COVID

Although the worst of COVID has passed, the aftereffect of the pandemic continues to lurk. With that in mind, the Dutch gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), announced that operators who were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic will be able to apply for tax relief.

KSA Unveils Partial Refunds for Affected Licensees

In its latest announcement, the KSA said that a recent ruling by the Netherlands’ Council of State said that the regulator was not allowed to impose a gambling tax on an operator that was forced to close due to the pandemic.

The ruling followed an appeal on July 23, 2025, and determined that the KSA should have taken the forced closure of the operator into account when determining its tax for 2020. Per the ruling, the operator should receive a tax refund for the period in which it was not operational.

As a result of this decision, the KSA decided that this should extend to other land-based operators that were affected by the closures between 2020 and 2021. This means that gambling companies can apply for a partial refund of the Dutch levies. The KSA added that the refund also includes statutory interest from the licensee’s payment date to the taxes’ repayment date.

Operators that wish to apply for a partial refund should contact the KSA by November 14, 2025. Providers can submit a refund request for 2020, 2021, or both, depending on when they were forced to close their premises.

The KSA added that it will determine whether to grant a refund on a case-by-case basis.

KSA Published Its Fall 2025 Monitoring Report

In other news, the KSA recently published its Fall 2025 monitoring report, highlighting some disconcerting trends. According to the authority, the unregulated gaming sector continued to grow while the growth of regulated gaming continued to lag behind.

While the channelization rates remained rather stable in terms of customers, the channelization of gambling funds painted a different picture, showing a decrease from 51% to 49%. The KSA called this a “worrying development.”