EU’s aspirations for a gambling tax grow

(AsiaGameHub) –   The European Commission (EC) projects that a Europe-wide gambling tax could generate €13.3 billion over the EU’s upcoming seven-year budget period.

Belgium.- Even though an EU-wide gambling tax covering the entire bloc still feels like a distant possibility, the European Commission seems to be ramping up the potential scope of this initiative. A report on new revenue-generating options, said to have been shared with governments and legislators this week, indicated that an EU-wide online gambling tax could bring in €13.3bn over the bloc’s next seven-year budget cycle, running from 2028 to 2034.

This proposal emerges as Brussels grapples to reach an agreement on funding the EU’s €2 trillion common fund, which includes repayments for the bloc’s post-pandemic borrowing program. The EC is also considering levies on crypto firms and a digital services tax, which it estimates could yield €20bn and €35bn, respectively. However, officials acknowledge these plans face pushback.

According to several media outlets—including Politico and Euronews—that claim to have seen the document, the EC estimates a 3 per cent levy on the net turnover of online gambling operators could generate around €1.9bn annually. A proposal put forward in February by Romanian MEP Victor Negrescu, vice president of the European Parliament and a member of the Budget Committee, suggested a 1 per cent charge.

The concept of an EU Gambling Tax has received cautious support from several countries but is likely to face fierce opposition from Malta, a major igaming hub. The document also notes that gambling definitions vary across the EU, raising doubts about whether such a tax could be implemented uniformly across all member states.

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has previously argued that an EU-wide gambling levy would be unfeasible.

Meanwhile, the proposed digital services tax would be modeled on existing schemes in France, Spain, and Italy, with a 3 per cent charge on revenues from advertising, intermediation, and user data monetization applied to firms with global turnover above €750m. Primarily affecting large US companies like Amazon and Google, this tax is estimated to raise €5bn per year but may spark concerns about potential retaliation from the US.

The most uncertain projections relate to crypto assets. A 0.1 per cent tax on transaction values could bring in €3bn to €4bn annually, the EC believes, while a capital gains tax might add €1–2.4bn. However, the Commission cautions that “the revenue potential of crypto taxes is hard to estimate due to the lack of data.”

Cyprus, which currently holds the Council presidency, is expected to present revised budget figures and spending allocations around June 10. Any new EU tax requires unanimous approval among the bloc’s 27 governments—a hurdle that has already derailed most of the Commission’s earlier proposals, with the exception of the carbon border levy (CBAM).