Kindred Group has received a positive ruling in the Belgian Constitutional Court, cancelling VAT that had been imposed on online gambling.
The igaming firm, formerly Unibet Group, challenged the charge as being unfair, “undermining policy objectives and lowering channelisation with lower consumer protection as a result”.
The court ruling pointed out the incompatibility between consumer protection and tax revenue objectives, especially when products (lotteries versus other products) and channels (retail versus online) are treated differently.
Kindred stated: “For any gambling policy to succeed and with the ‘better offer one click away’, locally regulated online operators must be able to provide services of equivalent value to end consumers as services provided by competitors in the global digital world.
“Kindred remains a strong advocate of sustainable regulation based upon a borderless digital market and channelling consumer demand to licensed offerings.
“We look forward to working with national and international policy makers and regulators to ensure gaming policy is sustainable and fact based.”
