Social assistance and gambling: Important information

Questioner

Dear Lawyer, My question is as follows. I am on welfare and have made a profit by playing toto. I know that I have to report this to my benefits agency because this money is income for me. Is it legally possible if you provide proof of the deposit of your money at toto that this can be deducted from your profit that my benefits agency counts this? Hope my question is clear, hope to get an answer as soon as possible. Kind regards,

Lawyer

At the time you won the lottery, you have assets above the asset limit. In that case, the municipality can terminate your right to social assistance. If you conceal that you won the lottery, you violate the duty to provide information. If the municipality later discovers that you won the lottery, it can revoke your right to social assistance from the date that you received the cash prize. The municipality can then also reclaim the social assistance that was wrongly provided from that date. It does not matter whether you have already spent the sum of money.

Lawyer

You can deduct the deposit of the money from the profit, provided that you can prove this. The municipality may take this into account, but it is not a fixed policy rule and the handling of this differs per municipality. Usually, this is taken into account.

Lawyer

The duty to provide information does not differ per municipality; this is a legal requirement if one receives social benefits. It is a pity that this is not explained correctly. You are allowed to gamble if you are on welfare. However, you must comply with the statutory duty to provide information. This statutory duty to provide information applies to everyone who receives welfare benefits. The idea behind this duty to provide information is that the UWV Werkbedrijf and your municipality can determine to what extent you are entitled to and will continue to be entitled to your welfare benefits. Failure to comply with this duty to provide information can result in the loss of your social assistance benefit! You can also receive a fine of at least €150. A lot of money if you have to make do with social assistance.

Lawyer

Of course, the duty to provide information is the same everywhere, but municipalities also have a certain freedom to deduct the deposit from the profit in your case or not. That is something different than the duty to provide information!

Questioner

Where can I find out in which municipality my money deposit is deductible from my profit?

Lawyer

This cannot be found, but you can inquire at your own municipality. You could also declare the profit minus the stake and wait to see if this is accepted.

Lawyer

This rule can be found because it is not allowed according to the Special Income Policy Rules. My apologies for giving you incorrect information. Article 1: Proceeds from gambling 1. Periodic gambling income is income that the assistance fully takes into account. No exemption of a part of the income applies to this income. 2.An incidental income from gambling is considered as assets that social assistance takes into account. 3. No account will be taken of the funds invested, losses incurred or the use of the proceeds in a new investment. 4.An incidental income that is equal to or less than 150 euros per calendar year will not be taken into account. 5. All proceeds related to gambling must be reported to the board by the interested party.