The belief in the Dutch coin machine industry is that its Government will opt for the proposed across-the-board 29 per cent tax on AWP machine income.
The proposals have led to a total stoppage in the Dutch market for the past six months. It is further believed that the Government will offer no tax deduction on new investments and the whole package will be introduced in late June or early July.
Additional worries for the industry come from the smoking ban which will come into effect on July 1 and is anticipated to reduce income by 15 per cent in pubs and arcades on gaming machines.
JvH Gaming’s Johan Buijks commented: "We anticipate that with dedicated software on our multigame video terminals for pubs (Master Games), we can overcome the smoking ban effects by offering a smoking break opportunity during the game play.
"A player can reserve his game for five minutes to have a cigarette outside or in a designated smoking area. But the taxation situation is a bad one for the industry."
