Tax on gaming devices and on gambling for money or material assets

The slot machine tax or gaming machine tax is an amusement tax that can be levied by the Hessian cities and municipalities under their own jurisdiction on the basis of a corresponding statute. It is to be regarded as a tax on expenditure; the player's expenditure for his gaming pleasure is taxed.

The tax debtor is the organiser (holder of gaming machines). This is either the owner or the person to whom the machine is made available for use by the owner. The tax debtor is obliged to calculate the tax themselves.

The determination of the tax rates is left exclusively to the municipalities. In the case of machines with the possibility of winning, the tax is generally calculated on the basis of the revenue generated by the machines (gross cash) or the stake (total amount of money spent by the players). In the case of gaming machines without the possibility of winnings, the number of units may be used as a basis if the machines do not have tamper-proof counters.