Colombia’s Constitutional Court has ordered the suspension of the economic emergency decree issued by President Gustavo Petro that increased iGaming taxes.The court’s...
Colombia to impose new 16% consumption tax on gambling
Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has signed new decrees to increase taxes after an economic and environmental emergency in Colombia.
One of the decrees is the addition of a 16% consumption tax on bets placed on digital platforms in order to collect resources to help the flood victims in Córdoba, Antioquia, La Guajira, Sucre, Magdalena, and other locations. In addition to that, measures like interest-free loans and relief for bank debtors are included in the decrees.
The initiative was justified by the government, stressing that the 2026 National General Budget is not enough after Congress reduced it by €2.36 billion and rejected financing laws that were supposed to bring in €3.9 billion.
The new consumption tax on online gambling will apply to bets placed both from Colombia and abroad, with the taxable base being money deposits by the user, including cash, transfers, and crypto. The tax will be calculated on gross revenue, which is defined as “the total amount of bets less the prizes paid out in the corresponding two-month period”.
The government argued that the gambling sector has a strong capacity to contribute to the budget and stated that all the funds will go to the General Budget expenses to address the causes of the State of Emergency.
Together with the Ministry of Finance, Colombia’s National Tax and Customs Authority (DIAN) is working on new rules to change the taxation system for iGaming and...
